An Elaborate Ruse
by halledean
Summary: Fairy Hills High is... interesting. Jellal discovers this, pretending to be his triplet brother, Myst, and spending the year with Erza and her incident-causing Fairy Tail foster family. Then there's Sieg, causing him even more trouble. Can Jellal make it through the year undiscovered? Can he resist feelings for Erza? Not likely, but it'll be interesting. Many ships, mainly Jerza.
1. One - Jellal Fernandes

**Author's Note:**

Warnings: high school AU, indecent language, violence.

This is a Jerza-centric fic. (Jellal x Erza and, to an extent, Siegrain x Erza [Siegza?])

Other pairings that are bound to be present include NaLu, Gruvia, Gajevy, MystWalker (Mystogan x Erza Knightwalker), Miraxus (Mirajane x Laxus), and Siegrain x Ultear (Siegtear?).

There also will at least be hints of many others, but I don't want to list them all.

Also, just a note: This is told from many points of view, and it has a lot of parallels to the actual story, but there are definitely differences and occasionally characters aren't perfectly in character because the situations have differences.

Thanks for reading!

-.-.-

 **One - Jellal Fernandes**

"It's Gildarts' fault, I swear!"

Siegrain stared at his brother, unamused. "Explain. Now."

Jellal sighed. "Where should I start?"

"Where is Myst?"

"He's on tour," Jellal said. "With Anima."

"Anima?" Siegrain repeated. "That band he's obsessed with?"

Jellal nodded. "He met them a few weeks ago and now they want him to open for them."

"What about school?"

"Ah, yes. That's where I come in," Jellal explained. "I'm gonna pretend I'm Myst and go to Fairy Hills in his place."

"But you're a terrible liar," Siegrain pointed out.

"Not _always_ ," Jellal protested. "I convinced Headmaster Yajima that you had nothing to do with extorting the other student council members."

"I suppose," Siegrain said with narrowed eyes. "But are you sure you can pretend to be Myst for an entire school year?"

Jellal shrugged. "I sort of _have_ to. Myst hid my Era expulsion letter from Dad, so I owe him. It's just one year, and what else do I have to do with my life now?"

"Just don't get caught," Siegrain warned.

-.-.-

Fairy Hills High started half an hour earlier than Era Academy, so Siegrain walked with Jellal to Fairy Hills to make sure he didn't immediately blow his cover.

"This place is so different from Era," Jellal noted.

Siegrain nodded. "I don't know why Myst insisted on going here rather than our school."

"He was just sick of doing whatever Dad told him to," Jellal shrugged.

Siegrain looked around. "Do you know any of Myst's friends?" he asked.

Jellal shook his head. "I've heard stories of people, but Myst usually keeps to himself. The only person here I actually _know_ is Erza."

"Don't talk to her," Siegrain said immediately.

"What? Why?" Jellal asked.

"Because Myst is always composed," Siegrain said. "And Erza makes you flustered."

A hint of red touched Jellal's face. "She does not!" he insisted.

"Isn't that Lucy Heartfilia?" Siegrain asked, ignoring his brother's protest. "She's supposed to be at Era."

"Who? The girl with that Natsu kid?" Jellal said, looking around. "I dunno. She looks different out of uniform, but it could be her. Maybe she transferred."

Siegrain shrugged. "Maybe. If so, you should be careful. She might recognize you from Era, so, if she talks to you, remember that you're Myst."

"I know that!" Jellal said. "I can do this, Sieg. I'm not completely useless."

"Yeah, we'll see," Siegrain said, turning to walk away. "Just try not to get found out on your first day."


	2. Two - Lucy Heartfilia

**Two - Lucy Heartfilia**

"You'll love it here," Natsu was telling Lucy. She was already sure she would. He had explained all about it and it sounded so much more friendly than Era. She wouldn't have to be on edge or make sure she made a perfect impression. And no uniform was a huge plus. "It's the best possible school!"

"Lucy, right?" a blue haired girl asked, approaching Lucy and Natsu as they entered the school.

"Ah, yes!" Lucy said. "And you're Levy, right? The girl who's supposed to show me around?"

Levy nodded and smiled. "We'll have to be in homeroom soon, so we only have time for a quick tour, but-"

"Leeeeeevyyyyyyy!" two guys called in unison, running up to the blue haired girl.

"We need your help!" one said.

"Huh? Oh, but I'm supposed to be showing Lucy around. It's her first day here."

"I can do that," Natsu grinned.

"Thanks, Natsu," Levy said. "Sorry, Lucy! I'll be back to finish the tour when I'm done helping these two."

"Okay, see you later!" Lucy called as Levy ran off with the two guys.

"Alright!" Natsu exclaimed. "Let's get this tour started!" He grabbed Lucy's hand and started dragging her down the hall. He stopped outside some double doors that were open to a cafeteria. "This is where the food is," he said. "It's all delicious, but you really, really, _really_ don't wanna piss off lunch lady Mira. Also, make sure not to eat all the strawberry cake before Erza gets to it, or you'll be killed."

"Killed?" Lucy repeated weakly.

Natsu nodded. "Trust me." He walked further down the hall, still gripping Lucy's hand. He pointed at a door that had a plaque reading 'Dojo' and smiled. "That's where Karate Club is."

"I probably won't join that though," she said. "So you don't need to show me-"

"Over there is where I hang out when I skip class," he interrupted, pointing out a door to a shady corner of the courtyard.

"Oh."

"And there, inside that big circle, is the designated fighting area."

"For Karate Club?" she asked.

Natsu looked at her. "No, we do that in the dojo. The fighting area is for when people challenge each other. Gildarts was getting tired of it happening in the hallways, so he sectioned off part of the courtyard."

"Who is Gildarts?" Lucy asked.

"Our guidance counselor," Levy said, walking up to Lucy and Natsu. "Sorry I had to run off. I'm back now. Did Natsu show you where your classes are?"

"Classes?" Natsu said. "Did she need to see those?"

Levy smiled and laughed. "I guess he didn't. I'll take over from here. Gray just showed up anyway, so Natsu is probably gonna-"

"Gray is here?" Natsu interrupted. "Where? I haven't fought him in at least a week."

"Do you _need_ to fight him?" Lucy asked.

Natsu didn't answer as he ran off towards a boy she assumed was Gray, who had just walked in the door. Levy laughed again.

"You'll get used to it," she said. Then she called over to the boys, "Gray! Your shirt!"

Lucy's eyes widened as Gray looked down to see his shirt was missing.

"What?! Where did it go?!" he asked in shock.

"But… he was just wearing it," Lucy said.

Levy led Lucy away from the boys, who were shouting insults at each other. "You'll get used to that too," she said. "Gray compulsively removes his clothes. No one knows why. He has a permanent, weekly appointment with Gildarts because of it."

"Gildarts is the guidance counselor, right?"

"Yes, I am," a tall, intimidating man said, walking out of a classroom. He looked over at the fighting boys and groaned. "Fullbuster! Dragneel! Quit that!"

"Oh, good," Lucy said. "Someone is actually gonna stop them."

"You know you can only fight in the battle arena outside!"

"I spoke too soon," Lucy said. "This place is crazy."

"But you have to wait until later anyway," Gildarts said. "Time to get to homeroom."

"You're a teacher, too?" Lucy asked.

"I am this year. Headmaster Makarov didn't want to do it himself anymore, so he gave the job to me," he explained. "Are you Heartfilia?" he asked, leading the way into the art classroom that was doubling as Lucy's homeroom.

"Uh, please call me Lucy," she said, following him and Levy into the room.

Levy shrugged. "I guess I'll have to show you your classes later. Oh, I'll just introduce you to some of your homeroom classmates for now. Natsu will be here, but you probably don't know most of the others."

Lucy and Levy looked around the classroom. A few students were already there. Lucy didn't recognize most of them, but then she saw a blue-haired boy with a red marking over the right side of his face. He was sitting in the far back corner of the room. Lucy was surprised to see him.

"Sieg?" she asked.

The boy didn't hear her, seeming absorbed in thought. But Levy saw where Lucy was looking and shook her head.

"Oh, no," she said. "That's Myst. His brother."

"Oh, that's right," Lucy said. "They're twins."

"Yep," Levy said. "Completely identical, right down to the tattoo. I haven't heard a lot about Siegrain, but Myst is pretty quiet, usually. So don't get offended if he doesn't talk to you."

"Hmm, I think I've seen him at Era before with Siegrain," Lucy mused quietly. "Maybe he also transferred." She looked back to Levy. "So, who are the others in this class?"

Levy pointed at an orange-haired boy leaning back in his chair to talk to the pink-haired girl at the desk behind him. "That's Loke," she said, "He's talking to Aries. Over there are Jet and Droy." She pointed to the guys that had pulled her away from Lucy and Natsu earlier. They were sitting down at their desks and saving the seat of the desk between theirs. "It looks like they're saving a seat for me, but I'm sure you can sit by Natsu." Levy looked around, but there were no other students. "There should be a few more coming, but you'll meet them later- Oh! There's Erza. Erza Scarlet."

"Erza?" Lucy repeated, recalling what Natsu had said when they were at the cafeteria. "The one who will kill me if I eat all the cake?"

Levy giggled. "At least Natsu told you _one_ important thing."

"So, she really would kill me?!" Lucy asked incredulously, watching the redhead cross the classroom.

Levy shrugged. "Just don't get on her bad side."

"Right..."


	3. Three - Erza Scarlet

**Three - Erza Scarlet**

"Hey, Myst," Erza said, smiling as she sat down next to the blue-haired boy.

"Uh, hi, Erza," he said nervously.

Erza frowned, concerned by the tone of his voice.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. "I'm Myst."

Erza raised her eyebrows. "I know," she said. "We've met many times. I was at your house last week."

"Right, yes," he said, blushing deeper. "I see you all the time. It's nice to see you again. I like your hair."

"What?"

"Uh, I... like the... air."

He looked down and became very interested in his desktop. Erza blinked, confused by how he was acting. He seemed so nervous. He wasn't acting at all like Myst. He was acting more like-

"Jellal?" she asked.

"What?" he responded, looking up. Then he froze. "Wait, no! I'm Myst. Who's Jellal? No, I know Jellal. Myst's brother. _My_ brother. I just look like him. I'm Myst..."

He trailed off, blushing furiously and looking upset.

"You've always been terrible at lying," she smiled.

"Dammit," he said. "I didn't last a single hour."

"Does Myst know you're here?" she whispered. "Does _Sieg_ know you're here?"

"Of course," he murmured. "I'll explain later. Please, just pretend I'm Myst."

Erza smiled and turned to the front of the classroom as Gildarts started speaking.

"So," the teacher said, as everyone settled into their seats. "Another school year starts. We have a new face. Welcome, Lucy. We are also missing a-" Gildarts stopped and looked directly at Jellal. "Fernandes," he said. "I need to speak with you in my office."

"Sir?"

"Now."

Jellal got up and followed Gildarts out of the room. Erza hoped he wasn't in trouble. She knew Jellal could handle himself, but he _was_ a bad liar. Gildarts had talked to Myst at length the previous year, so Erza doubted Jellal would be able to convince Gildarts that he was the same person.


	4. Four - Jellal Fernandes

**Four - Jellal Fernandes**

Gildarts closed the door behind him and turned to face Jellal.

"Why are you still here, Fernandes?" he asked. "I told you to-"

"I'm not Myst," Jellal said quickly.

"Siegrain?"

Jellal sighed. "No. I'm Jellal."

"Oh, right. I forgot that you're triplets," Gildarts said. "So, why are _you_ here?"

"Our dad wants Myst to take over the company, since he's technically the oldest," Jellal explained. "But, as you know, Myst wants to be a musician. After you told him he should take Anima's offer, he came and asked me to pretend to be him for his senior year, so that Dad wouldn't go berserk."

"But don't you have to be at Era?"

Jellal looked at his feet. "I was expelled at the end of last year."

"What for?" asked Gildarts.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you," Jellal said. "It's a secret that affects more than just myself. But I promise it will not affect Fairy Hills."

Gildarts crossed his arms. "I don't know you, kid," he said. "But if Fernandes - the Myst one - trusts you to do this, then I'll give you a chance."

"Thank you, sir," Jellal said.

"So, how is your brother doing?" Gildarts asked. "If he doesn't want your dad to find out he's gone, being on tour with Anima is not a good place for him. He'll be all over the news."

"He covers his face and hair and only uses his stage name, Mystogan."

Gildarts raised his eyebrows. " _Myst_ ogan?" he repeated. "That's not gonna be a giveaway at all."

"Well, Dad doesn't follow that sort of news, so it should be fine," Jellal shrugged. "Sieg and I will cover for him at home, but Dad doesn't pay a whole lot of attention, so it's not like there will be much to cover for."

"Well, good for you, helping your brother," Gildarts said, opening the door. "I hope you can pull this off."

"Yeah, so do I."


	5. Five - Lucy Heartfilia

**Five - Lucy Heartfilia**

Lucy followed Levy, Jet, and Loke from homeroom to her first class, History. The lights in the classroom were dim and all the blinds on the windows were pulled down. The teacher appeared to be sleeping, her head resting on the teacher's desk. The other students didn't seem to find this odd as they found their seats. Lucy sat down in the empty seat between Levy and Gray, who was also in this class.

"Is the teacher okay?" she whispered to Levy.

"I'm fine," the teacher snapped. "Just have a bit of a hangover."

"Can teachers show up with hangovers?" Lucy asked, even more quietly.

Levy nodded. "That's Cana," she said. "As long as she's not still drunk, Headmaster Makarov lets her come in. But she hits on some of the older students if she comes in drunk."

"This school is really weird."

"Tell me about it," Gray said, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

"Fullbuster!" Cana reprimanded. "Put your damn clothes on!" Gray ran out of the classroom to find his clothes while Cana did her best to stand up in front of the class. "Now, this should be easy," she said. "Don't piss me off and you'll pass."

Lucy was starting to wonder how the school functioned properly. The guidance counselor allowed students to fight one another in a battle arena. The history teacher was a drunk. From what Natsu had said, the lunch lady sounded like a demon. And, on top of all that, the students seemed to think all that was normal!

-.-.-

The next class Lucy had was Math. The teacher, Evergreen, acted very strict and smacked people with yardsticks if they did anything to displease her. Natsu was in this class, as well as Aries and another student Lucy had in her homeroom class, Cancer. After that class, Lucy had English, though Freed, the teacher of the class, insisted that people call it 'Language Arts'. Levy, Droy, Natsu, Gray, and Myst all had this class with Lucy.

Lucy was very happy when lunch came around. She was getting overwhelmed by how weird all the teachers were. Natsu had been right about the food being delicious, but the lunch lady, Mirajane Strauss, seemed so sweet it was hard to believe she had a bad side. Lucy looked around the cafeteria to see that everyone seemed to have the same lunch time since the school was so small. She sat down with Levy, Jet, Droy, Natsu, and Gray, glad that she had already made some friends.


	6. Six - Jellal Fernandes

**Six - Jellal Fernandes**

Jellal sat down on his own in the lunchroom, trying to make himself as unnoticeable as possible. He sighed and played with his food, wondering how Myst could handle being by himself all the time. Jellal hadn't been as popular at Era as Siegrain was, but he'd had friends. Wally, Milliana, Sho, Simon. He couldn't be friends with them anymore though.

Not after he helped Siegrain extort the student council. His friends were among the people threatened. There was no way they'd forgive him, but Siegrain had to stay at Era, all set to become Student Council President. Siegrain was the best option to take over the company after their father, so Jellal would take all the blame. He would just have to live without friends.

"Hey, _Myst_ ," Erza said, grinning and sitting down next to Jellal.

"Hey," Jellal said. "Why are you sitting over here?"

"I didn't want you to be all alone," she said.

"But doesn't Myst always sit on his own?"

"You're not Myst," she said softly. "And we're friends, right?"

Jellal couldn't help but smile. "Yeah," he said. "Of course we are." Erza took a bite of strawberry cake. "Uh, Erza," Jellal said. "Shouldn't you eat the cake _after_ your real food?"

"I can eat it whenever I want," she said, taking another bite.

Jellal chuckled quietly and turned to his own food.

"Whoa! She didn't kill you!" Jellal and Erza turned around to see Natsu standing behind them. "No one messes with Erza's cake and lives," the pink-haired boy said. "She must like you, or something."

Red crept up on both Jellal and Erza's faces as they glanced at each other.

"Natsu, shut up!" Gray said, putting Natsu in a choke hold. "You want Erza to kill _you_?"

"Let me go, you crazy stripper!"

"Hey! If you're gonna fight, do it outside!" Gildarts shouted from the teacher's table.

Before anyone could do anything else, Erza punched both Natsu and Gray in the face. They fell to the ground and Erza went back to eating her cake. Jellal raised his eyebrows.

"Was that necessary?" he asked.

"I'm sick of them fighting all the time," she said. "I just want to eat my cake in peace."

Natsu and Gray crawled away and Jellal laughed. "I guess that's one way to deal with it."

-.-.-

At the end of the lunch period, Erza stood up and smiled at Jellal, making his heart flutter strangely. "Come on," she said. "All the rest of our classes are together, so I'll show you where they are." Jellal was more than happy to spend the rest of his day with Erza, despite the strange feelings he got just being around her. He was so glad to actually have a friend. Maybe this year would be easier than he thought.


	7. Seven - Erza Scarlet

**Seven - Erza Scarlet**

Erza found herself glad that Jellal was at her school. Before, she didn't have any close friends in any of her classes except for Natsu in Gym. Now she had Jellal in three of her classes. She always enjoyed hanging out with him and Siegrain at their house. She had been close friends with Jellal when they were at Tower Academy, a private elementary and middle school.

That had been in a different town, far away. She had had a lot of friends there, but was forced to move away suddenly. Her uncle had been her legal guardian and had been paying for her to go to Tower Academy. When he died, she had to transfer to Fairy Hills Middle School, which was very far away. She didn't see Jellal or any of her other friends again for years.

She lived in a foster home called Fairy Tail. She loved Fairy Tail like they were her real family. It was good to have them, since she never got any letters or any word from Jellal or her other friends. She grew up with other children that were on their own, like Natsu and Gray. Then there was Mirajane Strauss and Laxus Dreyar, who helped out a lot at the foster home.

Laxus was the foster father's grandson and Mirajane and her siblings, Elfman and Lisanna, had just always been around. Erza wasn't sure why Headmaster Makarov had decided to open a foster home, but she was glad that he had. She knew that most of the staff at the school, and many of the students, all grew up in or had some part in Fairy Tail. It made the whole school feel like family rather than an institution. But she never really forgot about her friends from Tower.

She had been so upset that Jellal had never made any attempt to communicate with her that she practically attacked Siegrain when she saw him at the store one day. It was extremely embarrassing for her when he told her he wasn't Jellal. She was still angry and Siegrain had been fairly pretentious towards her. It was strange, really, that they had become friends. At first, Jellal would barely talk to her or even look her way, even when she was at his house.

She wondered a lot why he was like that. It made her sad when she realized that all of her friends had transferred to Era Academy and none of them had thought to contact her when she was so close by. She shrugged it off, however, having matured a lot over the years. Jellal eventually started talking to her again, though, she became more friends with Siegrain this time around. Myst hardly ever spoke to her, even after he transferred to Fairy Hills; she had chalked it up to him being shy, but later found out he was just usually focused on his music.

Now, Jellal had taken his place at school, and she was able to spend time with him again. She enjoyed hanging out with him and Siegrain, but it was different, just being with him. Less distracting, for one thing. It wasn't like she was having inappropriate thoughts or anything, it was just really distracting to have two very attractive guys around. Jellal, at least, wasn't as self-confident as Sieg, so it made it a bit easier to talk to him and not be intimidated.

Erza found herself watching Jellal instead of listening to whatever Cana was babbling on about at the front of the classroom. He seemed to be focused on paying attention. He had quietly explained that he was covering for Myst when Erza had yanked him into an empty corner of the school after lunch and insisted he tell her what was going on. She wondered if he was concentrating so that Myst's grades wouldn't drop. It didn't really matter in Cana's class, but Erza admired his dedication.

"Why are you looking at me?" Jellal murmured, looking a bit uneasy.

Erza could feel herself blushing as she looked away. "I'm- um-" she stammered quietly. "I'm just trying to see if I can tell the difference between you and your brothers when you're not side by side."

"Can you?" he asked, looking over at her.

She looked back to him and studied his features. He looked exactly identical to Siegrain and Myst. Myst's hair was generally a bit longer, and Jellal's tended to be messier than Sieg's, but they all had the exact same face. The easiest way to tell them apart was by their expression and how they acted. Siegrain was always confident and smooth, never missing a beat or looking foolish; Myst kept to himself; Jellal was… Jellal.

Erza sighed softly. There was nothing _wrong_ with Jellal. Quite the contrary, she liked him very much. She had had a huge crush on him when they were younger. But he had been more sure of himself back then.

Now, he was hesitant and often seemed a bit dispirited. He also seemed to get flustered a lot, which she found cute. She was fairly sure she still had more than just friendly feelings for him. Then there was Sieg, who definitely seemed interested in her. He was always getting into her personal space and making her confused about her feelings.

"Well?" Jellal asked, waiting for her to answer.

"You're identical," she finally responded. "But you act so differently that it's not that hard to tell you apart."

"Maybe I should get a tattoo over my _left_ eye so it's easier to recognize me right away," he joked.

"Please don't do that," she said. "I like your face the way it is."

As soon as the words left her mouth, her face turned as red as her scarlet hair. Jellal's face was competing for a brighter color, causing his tattoo to blend in. They both looked away from each other in embarrassment, neither knowing what to say for the rest of the period. Erza wanted to slap herself, but figured it would look a little strange to the others in the class. She spent the rest of the hour trying to think of a good way to smooth things over when the class ended.

-.-.-

"So, Gym is next, right?" Jellal asked, not quite meeting her eyes. The bell had rung and they were gathering their things. "Do you know where the boys' locker room is?"

Erza was grateful that he started the conversation. "Yes," she said, smiling nervously. "It's right next to the girls'. I can show you." She led the way in silence for what seemed like forever. "Um," she said, after a moment. "Sorry about what I said before. I didn't mean- I was just saying- I don't know what I was saying."

"It's fine," he said. "I understand that you misspoke."

"I wouldn't say I _misspoke_ ," she said. "It just would have sounded better if I said something more like, 'You're fine the way you are,' or 'One tattoo makes you look cool. Two would be tacky.'"

"We'll just pretend you said those things then," he said with a small smile.

"Yeah," she said, letting out a relieved sigh. They came upon the locker room doors and she gestured to the boys' room. "Just find an empty locker. We bring our own locks so we don't have to have assigned lockers in the gym."

"Oh," Jellal said. "Myst didn't tell me that. I don't have a lock."

"Hmm, you can use mine for today," she offered, holding out her electronic keypad lock. It wasn't something she would have bought for herself, since it was expensive. She had had things stolen before, so Headmaster Makarov had given her a better lock. She was sure she could trust Jellal to not lose it. "But you should bring your own tomorrow," she said.

"You don't have to-"

"I insist," she interrupted, shoving the lock into his hands. "I don't want your first day to be unnecessarily difficult. Most of the people here are nice, but there are some real jerks that you'll need to watch out for."

"Uh, thanks," Jellal said, smiling slightly.

"The code is five - three - five - five - two... five..." she told him, trailing off at the end when she remembered her reasoning behind that particular set of numbers.

"Got it," Jellal said, obviously not noticing her hesitation. "Thanks, Erza."

He disappeared into the locker room before she could make any sort of protest. She just went into the adjacent room, hoping he wouldn't notice what could be spelled out using the letters underneath the numbers on the keypad. When they met up again, changed into their gym clothes, he wasn't acting any differently. It was still hard to calm down. He would be more likely to notice when he actually had to punch in the numbers to unlock his locker.

"Alright, class!" Coach Elfman shouted over the chattering of all the students. Everyone quieted down and turned to listen. "First day back for the school year, so we're gonna do some warm ups and then have a game of manly dodge ball."

The class cheered, but settled down quickly in anticipation of getting to play. Everyone followed Elfman's instructions for warming up, then gathered into teams for the game. Erza pulled Jellal over to her team when she saw that he wasn't moving to one side or the other. Myst generally found some way to get out of group activities, but Jellal was different. Natsu looked surprised to see him.

"Is Myst playing this time?" he asked.

"I guess so," Jellal shrugged.

"Are you all good at this game?" Lucy asked.

"Oh, we will win," Erza assured her. "Natsu and I never lose."

At first, Erza wasn't sure if Jellal was going to be any good at dodgeball. Myst had never played with them and she never saw any of the triplets play any sort of sport while she was at their house. It turned out that she had no reason to worry. Jellal was unbelievably fast, never getting hit once. He wasn't bad at throwing either, pegging at least half of the other team, all on his own.

"You are _awesome_ , Myst!" Natsu congratulated when the period ended. "You were even better than _Erza_!"

"I wouldn't say that," Jellal mumbled, looking to Erza apologetically.

She wasn't offended by Natsu's statement though. Jellal had done much better than she had. She was impressed. A few times, she had gotten distracted, watching Jellal play instead of paying attention to what she was doing. She might have played better if she had focused more, but Jellal would still have had her beat.

"No, you were amazing," she told him. "You have to be on our team all the time."

His face brightened at her words, making her heart flutter. She quickly followed Lucy into the girls' locker room to avoid complimenting Jellal too much and embarrassing herself. She dumped her gym clothes into the Fairy Tail laundry chute. The foster home would collect and wash all the dirty clothes their kids put in, to make it easier on them. When Erza got out of the showers and headed for her locker, wrapped in a towel, she found Lucy smiling at her.

"Sooooo," Lucy said teasingly. "You like Myst?"

Erza's face instantly flushed bright red, canceling out her hurried denial. " _No_ ," she squeaked. "I do _not_ like Myst."

"Riiiiight," Lucy smirked, opening her locker and pulling out her clothes.

Erza stomped past the blonde, towards her own locker. She had assumed that no one would mess with her stuff, even though she didn't have her lock. No one was going to risk making her angry, or so she thought. She yanked her locker door open to find her bag, but no clothes. She checked in the other lockers, just in case, but her belongings were nowhere to be found.

"Where are my clothes?!" she demanded of the room. She was having flashbacks to when she first started at Fairy Hills and her things were stolen often. A few of the other girls in the room shrugged, backing away in fear of inciting Erza's wrath. "Someone has to know something!" she shouted.

"I saw a boy sneak in here while we were playing dodgeball," Virgo eventually admitted. "I don't know who it was. He had blue hair though and he was wearing an Era Academy uniform."

"Era?" Lucy repeated. "Why would a student from Era steal your clothes?"

"Sieg," Erza grumbled.

"Sieg?" Lucy echoed in confusion. "As in, Siegrain Fernandes? Why would he be here? And why would he steal your stuff?"

"I don't know," Erza said. "To get my attention, I guess. Though, he could have just _asked_ to talk to me. Now I have no clothes."

"I'll go ask Coach Elfman if there are any clothes lying around that you can use," Lucy offered when none of the other girls had extra clean outfits and everyone had put their gym clothes in the laundry chute.

"Thanks," Erza mumbled. She wasn't holding out much hope. Since it was the first day of the school year, there would likely be no lost and found clothes. It surprised her when Lucy came back smiling and holding a small pile of clothes. "The coach actually found some extras?" Erza asked.

"Actually, no," Lucy said. "He didn't have any. But Myst overheard me explaining the situation and said he brought an extra change of clothes."

"These are... Myst's clothes?" Erza asked.

Lucy responded by smirking and holding out the bundle of fabric. Erza recognized the shirt as one that Jellal wore often; it had the Big Dipper constellation on it along with the words "Grand Chariot". The pants didn't fit quite right and the shirt was a bit baggy on her, but she didn't have another option. Secretly, she liked wearing Jellal's clothes, even though they probably looked terrible on her. She shook her head at herself; her feelings for him were making her weird.

"How are you going to get your things back from Siegrain?" Lucy asked.

"Go to his house after school and beat the hell out of him," Erza said. "I don't care if he's just trying to mess with me. He went too far."


	8. Eight - Jellal Fernandes

**Eight - Jellal Fernandes**

Jellal knew he didn't have a good reason to feel so protective of Erza, but he was so angry that someone would steal her things. He would find out who took them and _force_ them to apologize and give everything back. For the moment, all he could do was lend her some of his clothes. He didn't remember bringing an extra outfit, but he was glad he had. Erza would have been without clothes otherwise.

He pushed away the image that tried to invade his mind at that thought. He turned to his locker to unlock it once more and retrieve the rest of his things. The code was easy to remember because the numbers just so happened to match up to the letters of his name. He wondered if Erza knew about that. He would have to ask her when she was done changing.

As soon as she stepped out of the locker room, however, coherent thought left him. In her _own_ clothes, she had looked stunning. Loose-fitting, guys' clothes did nothing to make her look especially nice, but Jellal couldn't help but find her absolutely adorable in _his_ clothes. He stared at her longer than he probably should have. She smiled slightly at him, seeming a little embarrassed.

 _She- she's so cute,_ he thought.

"Do I look bad?" she asked. Jellal didn't trust himself to speak, so he just shook his head vehemently. "Your stupid brother stole my clothes," she went on.

Jellal was confused. "Sieg?" he asked. "Why would he do that?" Erza shrugged and Jellal's eyes followed the curve of her shoulder as the fabric of his shirt slid off of it. She adjusted the neckline back into place, snapping Jellal out of the odd daydream his mind had started pulling him towards. "I'll help you get them back," he said.

"Thanks," she smiled. "I'm pretty sure he's just trying to mess with me."

"Sorry," Jellal said. "You know as well as I do how much of a jerk he can be sometimes."

She nodded. Then she noticed something over his shoulder. "Oh!" she gasped and he looked around to see a wall clock. "We're going to be late for home ec!" She grasped his wrist and lead him out of the gym in a hurry.

-.-.-

Lucy had arrived ahead of them and explained what had happened. Mirajane was the home ec teacher, so she didn't make a big deal out of it. "I hope you find your clothes," she said. "It's nice to have _friends_ to help you out." She winked at Erza and Jellal, and then shared a smirk with Lucy.

"Lucy!" Erza said accusingly. Jellal wasn't sure what was going on, but Erza seemed embarrassed, which just made her even more adorable. "Just get on with the class," she grumbled.

"Okay, class," Mirajane began. "There will be a lot to learn this year. We'll start with learning to sew and wash clothes. After that we'll move on to cooking; that will be most of what we do. Near the end of the year we'll have our sack of flour baby project. The final exam is to have taken care of, properly clothed, and cooked and baked a decent meal and dessert for your little family."

"Do we get to work in pairs?" a guy Jellal knew as Loke asked.

He was leaning back in his chair and winking at every girl in the room. Jellal was suddenly determined to not let the guy work with Erza.

"Yes," Mirajane answered. "And you'll need to pick out your partner for the year today. You will do every project with them and you'll be graded in part by how well you can manage to get along." She motioned for everyone to stand. "Go find your partner and then come tell me who you are with so I can mark it down on my list."

Loke got up and started walking towards Erza. Jellal hurriedly turned to her. "Be my partner," he said. He had meant to ask nicely, but panicked when Loke had approached so quickly. "I mean," he said, "only if you want to."

"Of course," Erza smiled.

Loke scowled at Jellal, who fought the urge to shoot the orange haired boy a victorious smile. Erza told Mirajane to mark down "Myst" as her partner. Mirajane whispered something in Erza's ear that made her blush. Jellal found himself wishing he could make her blush more. It was cute to see her so vulnerable.

"I can't believe Lucy said that," Erza said, shooting a death glare at Lucy, who had ended up paired with Loke. Erza sat back down next to Jellal. "Do you know anything about sewing or cooking?" she asked him.

"Uh, very little," he admitted. "Do you?"

"I can cook alright," she said. "I haven't done much sewing. It shouldn't be too hard for us. We'll be fine."

She smiled at him and he couldn't help but smile back. He had to force his eyes not to linger on the way his clothes hung loosely over her body. It was becoming more and more difficult to ignore his attraction to her. That was not a good thing. Siegrain would definitely not be happy about it.

The thought of Siegrain made Jellal a bit angry. Why would he steal Erza's clothes? Why did he have to screw with her all the time? And why did she still seem to like him, even though he made her life difficult? Jellal huffed in annoyance and decided not to think about that anymore.

 _Erza can like whoever she wants,_ he mentally chided himself. _She shouldn't like me anyway._

He held back a groan as he laid his head on the table.

"Are you feeling alright?" Erza asked, lifting his hair out of his face and placing her hand on his forehead.

"I'm fine," he assured her quickly, backing away. _I don't think that I can handle her touching me,_ he thought. _I'll go crazy._ "I'm just a bit tired," he said. "And annoyed by my brother."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, me too," she agreed. "I'm heading home with you after school today. I'll need you to hold him down so I can beat the everliving-"

"Myst and Erza, please pay attention," Mira said. "You can flirt after I'm finished explaining how to thread a needle."

Jellal felt his face heat up and, though he didn't look, he was sure that Erza's face matched her hair. The rest of the lesson went on in a similar fashion. Mirajane seemed determined to embarrass Erza, and Jellal wasn't entirely sure how she was managing it. Erza refused to look at him for most of the period, which irritated him a bit, but it least it let him think more clearly. He wondered why in the world Myst had chosen 'Home Economics' as his second elective.

"'Shop' is one thing," Erza whispered to him, seeming to read his mind, "but why in Earthland would Myst take 'Home Ec'?"

Jellal shrugged and ignored how close she had gotten to him in order to speak into his ear. "I'm not sure," he said quietly. "He already knew he wouldn't be here, so maybe he picked at random."

"At least that means we get to be in the same class," she smiled, standing up at the sound of the bell. "Do you have the same locker as last year?" she asked.

"I assume so," Jellal said, following her out of the room. "I actually haven't visited my locker yet-"

"Myyyyyyst!" Natsu's voice called out over the students crowding the hall. "C'mere!" The pink haired boy was standing on an extremely disgruntled Gray's shoulders as he beckoned to Jellal. "You're joining Karate Club," Natsu said as Jellal and Erza approached him.

"Excuse me?" Jellal asked.

"Karate Club," Gray echoed, pointing to the signup sheet on the dojo's door.

"Why would I join?" Jellal asked.

Natsu blinked in confusion and narrowed his eyes. "Because nakama need to stick together," he said matter-of-factly.

"I don't know what that means," Jellal said slowly.

"He means that you're our friend, so you have to be in Karate Club with us," Gray said.

"But-" Jellal tried to protest, but Natsu had already written 'Mist Ferndez' on one of the sign up sheet lines. His handwriting was even worse than his spelling.

"Give me that," Erza said, snatching the pen from Natsu and filling out the form correctly for all three boys.

"You're not joining?" Gray asked when she didn't add her own name to the list.

"I joined the fencing team!" she announced, eyes sparkling.

"Fairy Hills has a fencing team?" Lucy Heartfilia asked, walking up to the group with a blue-haired girl.

"We do now," the girl — Jellal recalled her name being Levy — said. "Erza is the sole member."

"The clubs here are very small," Lucy noted.

"That's why I'm glad I have one more person for Book Club!" Levy grinned. "Next thing you know, we'll be giving Star Club a run for their money."

"Star Club?" Jellal asked with interest.

"It's astrology, not astronomy," Erza told him. "You wouldn't be interested."

"Oh," he said. "Okay."

"You couldn't join anyway," Natsu said. "You'll be in Karate Club."

"Right," Jellal sighed. "I still don't understand why you guys want me to join," he said. "How do you even know if I'm any good?"

"You were good at dodgeball," Natsu shrugged.

Jellal wasn't sure what that had to do with anything, but he figured he was going to be forced into it either way. There was no point in resisting. He was focusing all his energy elsewhere anyway. They would be heading home any moment. Siegrain would soon pay for messing with Erza.


	9. Nine - Siegrain Fernandes

**Nine - Siegrain Fernandes**

Siegrain was glad that student council meetings didn't start until later in the week. It meant that he would get home before Jellal and, undoubtedly, Erza arrived. He wasn't one hundred percent sure why he had thought that stealing Erza's clothes had been such a great plan. Ultear's plans were generally pretty decent, but this one seemed silly in hindsight. It wasn't as if he got to _see_ her without her clothing.

"Stop with the perverted thoughts," he mumbled to himself. "They'll be home any minute."

As if on cue, the front door opened and the sound of Jellal's voice echoed through the front hall. Erza laughed at something and Siegrain had the strangest feeling of jealousy. He pushed the thought aside. Erza did not like Myst, so there was nothing to worry about. Siegrain waited on the couch at the top of the stairs, knowing that his brother and Erza would find him soon.

"Do you want something to eat?" Jellal asked from the kitchen as Erza began to climb the stairs.

"No," she said. "Thanks, but I just need to find your brother- Oh."

She stopped short when she reached the top step and found Siegrain staring at her. He had to take a moment to adjust to seeing her in Jellal's clothing. It made him feel a bit possessive and he wished he hadn't stolen her clothes after all. Once he had processed that feeling, he stood and approached her. She couldn't back up easily, having nothing but stairs behind her, so she was essentially trapped.

"These are not your clothes," he said, plucking at the sleeve of Jellal's shirt.

"No, they aren't," she said crossly. " _Someone_ stole my clothes from my locker. Jellal was _kind_ enough-"

"Jellal?" Siegrain repeated with raised eyebrows. "Don't you mean, 'Myst'?"

Erza rolled her eyes, taking Siegrain's moment of confusion to sidestep him.

"As if I wouldn't notice it was Jellal," she said, looking around. "Where are my clothes, Sieg?"

He folded his arms across his chest. "I'm sure I don't know _what_ you're talking about," he lied.

She glared at him. "Siegrain, give my clothes back," she demanded.

"Why?" he asked. "You don't like wearing Jellal's clothes?"

Much to Siegrain's displeasure, she blushed. "That- that is none of your business," she stammered.

 _She_ does _like it,_ he thought bitterly.

He immediately grabbed her wrist and dragged her toward his bedroom.

"W-what are you doing?" she squeaked.

"Hey!" Jellal protested, reaching the top of the stairs and glaring at his brother.

Siegrain just rolled his eyes and tossed Erza into his room, slamming the door behind her. "Your clothes are on the bed," he said through the door. "Hurry up and change."

"What is your problem?" Jellal demanded of his triplet.

Siegrain ignored his question. "Hello, _Myst_ ," he scowled. "I see you completely ignored my instruction to _not talk to Erza_."

"She spoke to me first," Jellal defended himself. "She sat next to me in homeroom and instantly realized that I wasn't Myst."

"You failure," Sieg sighed. "What will we do now?"

"She isn't going to tell anyone," Jellal said. "I explained to her that Myst needs help. I don't know how you expected to keep her in the dark about this."

"You still shouldn't talk to her too often at school," Siegrain suggested, narrowing his eyes. "Myst never did. You don't want to cause suspicion and get yourself found out."

"It's none of your business, Sieg," Erza said, opening the door to his room and smoothing her skirt out. "How we interact at school is between me and Jellal." She held up Jellal's clothes, folded into a neat pile, but didn't hand them over. "I'll wash these for you," she smiled. "Thanks, again."

"That is unnecessary," Siegrain said, snatching the articles from her hands. "We have a perfectly capable washing machine here." _Why am I acting like this?_ he wondered. _There's no indication that they're anything more than friends. Besides, I already know that Erza is attracted to me. There's no reason to be jealous._ But he still couldn't shake the irrational emotion.

"Calm down, Sieg," Erza frowned, stepping past him and giving Jellal a quick hug of thanks.

Siegrain seethed with envy. Jellal, to his credit, looked apologetic, but it did little to assuage Sieg's anger. Erza didn't even look back as she went down the stairs, leaving the brothers alone with each other. Jellal was flushed red as Siegrain glared at him. He opened his mouth to speak, but Siegrain cut him off.

"You had your chance with Erza," he said, glancing down the stairs to make sure the redhead was out of earshot. "You blew it. She's mine now."

Jellal's blush vanished as his expression hardened. "I'm not trying to steal her from you," he said quietly. "But I'm not going to ignore her if she's willing to be friends with me again."

Siegrain simply brushed past his brother, strolling down the stairs to see where Erza had gone. He knew that it was unreasonable and impossible to try and keep Jellal and Erza apart, but it was so frustrating to know that they would be together so often when he wasn't around. What if she chose Jellal over him? Why had he ever agreed to let his brother go through with this stupid plan? Erza was sitting on the living room couch, arms and legs crossed and glaring at him as he entered the room.

"Why did you steal my clothes?" she asked.

He took a moment to respond. "I wanted you to come see me," he eventually said.

"There is an invention," she said, pulling her phone from her pocket. "It's called a cell phone. If you wanted to see me, you could _ask_? I do not respond well to theft and annoyance."

"I apologize," he said, offering a bow. Her expression didn't shift, so he walked to her chair and leaned over her until their faces were very close together. "Will you really not forgive me?" he asked with a slight smirk. "I was not in my right mind."

She was blushing hard, which pleased him greatly. Hindered by the chair, she was unable to escape him. It was just how he liked it. She cleared her throat nervously and unfolded her arms. It took a lot of willpower to keep his eyes on her face and not allow them to scan the rest of her.

"I forgive you," she mumbled, looking down and away. "I always _do_."

"That's my girl," he smirked, using his forefinger to lift her face and force her to look at him. He wanted to kiss her so badly. He could tell from her expression that she was wavering between letting him and pushing him off of her. _I could claim her as mine, right now,_ he thought. _Jellal will realize that she's with me, not him._

"Ahem," a stern voice interrupted, causing the teenagers to jump in surprise. They looked over at the doorway to see the triplets' father, Faust Fernandes.


	10. Ten - Lucy Heartfilia

**Ten - Lucy Heartfilia**

Lucy walked home with her newfound friends. They had invited her to have dinner with them at their foster home, Fairy Tail. The house was massive, but, for being home to most of the students at all three Fairy Hills schools, it seemed adequate. The dining room was bigger than the high school's cafeteria. Mirajane was already present in the kitchen.

"Do you make the food here, as well?" Lucy asked her.

"Mmhmm!" the white-haired woman smiled. "I help out Headmaster Makarov as much as I can."

"Only because she wants to be near Laxus," Gray mumbled.

"What did you just say?"

Lucy could swear a dark aura surrounded Mira as she smiled at Gray. He backed away slowly, smiling with false brightness.

"Nothing! Nothing!" he insisted.

"Where is Laxus, since we're talking about him?" Natsu asked.

"I don't want to fight you, Natsu," a deep voice said from behind them. Laxus, like Mirajane, wasn't really that much older than the rest of them. The lightning-bolt shaped scar over his right eye aged him slightly, but it mostly just made him look cool, even while wearing huge headphones. "I've had enough of that," he said, placing his palm forward as Natsu leapt at him. "Gimme a break."

"Can we have a single day without infighting?" Levy sighed, though she seemed amused.

"This place is very interesting," Lucy said.

"You should live here with us!" Natsu suggested, giving up his futile attempts to attack Laxus.

"I'm sure she has her own place, Flame Brain," Gray said.

"Well, actually," she said, a little embarrassed. "I am looking for a place to stay right now. I disenrolled myself from Era Academy and ran away from home."

"What?!" Natsu and Gray exclaimed in unison.

"You went to Era?" Natsu asked.

"So, you're a rich kid," Gray said. "Or a smart one."

"Hmm, she must be rich," Natsu decided.

"Are you saying I'm not smart?!" Lucy demanded furiously.

"Are you a scholarship kid, then?" Levy asked.

"Well, no," Lucy admitted. "My family is very rich. But _I'm_ not anymore. I couldn't stand it there anymore." Her voice wavered as she considered her situation. "But now I'm alone and have no money to pay for rent anywhere!" she cried hysterically, the pressure finally getting to her.

Her new friends gathered around and comforted her.

"You'll be just fine," Levy assured her.

"Yeah, you really can live here," Gray said.

"Why are you crying?" Natsu asked. "We said you can stay."

"Thank you so much!" Lucy said, smiling at the group around her.

"Alright, I came in here for food, not emotional breakdowns," Laxus grumbled, turning to Mirajane.

"Of course!" she said happily. "We can all have dinner together, to celebrate our newest foster kid!"

Laxus sighed. "I'll go tell the old geezer that he's gained another one," he said. "This dinner had better be good."


	11. Eleven - Erza Scarlet

**Eleven - Erza Scarlet**

"Mr. Fernandes!" Erza yelped, pushing Siegrain away from her and standing up. "Hello, sir!"

"Miss Scarlet," the old man greeted solemnly. "If you're going to do things of that nature with my sons, please have the decency to leave my sitting room first."

"Oh, we weren't- I'm not- It isn't what you think!" she stammered, looking to Siegrain, desperate for help explaining things.

He smirked. "We'll go upstairs next time," he said. "You're home early, aren't you?"

"I have to pack," Faust said. "I'm going on a business trip."

Though he hid it well, Erza could see the disappointment on Siegrain's face.

"Of course," he said. "Do you need anything?"

"Yes, where is Myst?"

"He stayed behind for a study hall," Siegrain lied smoothly. "Perhaps I could be of assistance in his place?"

"Where is your other brother?" Faust asked.

"I can help-"

"Siegrain," his father warned.

Siegrain sighed. "Jellal is up in his room."

Faust left and Siegrain's shoulders visibly slumped. Erza couldn't help but feel bad for him. He was the only one of the brothers that wanted anything to do with his father's company, and he was the one that Faust always overlooked. Erza wasn't sure if he wanted her to pretend everything was okay, or if he wanted her to be comforting. He was harder to read than Jellal was.

"Sieg?" she said carefully.

"Let's go out," he said, turning to face her.

"Uh-" Before she could answer, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the door. "Where?" she inquired.

"I don't know," he said. "Do you want to see a movie?"

"Are you asking me on a date?" she asked in surprise.

He stopped and turned to her, tilting his head to the side a bit. "Erza," he said, his voice making her feel slightly tingly. "Do you like Jellal?"

The question caught her by surprise. "Wh-what?" she stammered. "Why would you ask that?"

"I know you did when we were younger," he said. "I could see it in your face when Simon asked you the same question."

"I don't know what-"

"Don't lie to me, Erza," he commanded, placing his hands on her shoulders and backing her into the wall. Her heart was beating fast. "Do you still love him?"

"L-love?" she repeated. "Sieg, let me go. Stop asking strange questions." She tried to push him off, but he only pressed her harder against the wall.

"You're not denying it!" he exclaimed. "Who do you love? Me or Jellal?"

His face was incredibly close to hers again, causing her thoughts to jumble. She tried to steady her breathing and clear her mind. Even when she was clear-minded, she couldn't decide on her feelings. How did Siegrain expect her to give him an answer? He was practically glaring at her, though, she saw a hint of desperation in his eyes.

"I don't know," she whispered. "I'm confused, Sieg. I- it's not that I don't like you, I just can't sort out my feelings."

"Maybe I can clear up your confusion," he said, lifting her chin and bringing his lips closer to hers.

He wore a smirk and his eyes had softened slightly. But he was still scaring her and making her unsure.

"Sieg," she murmured.

She was about to tell him to stop, when she was saved by the creaking of the door. Siegrain looked over, giving Erza the opportunity to push him away. She opened the door all the way, but no one was there. It must have moved on its own. She just shook her head and ran.


	12. Twelve - Jellal Fernandes

**Twelve - Jellal Fernandes**

Jellal wasn't sure where he was going, but he needed to get out of the house. It had been at least an hour since he left, and he was still walking around. He made a vow to never again open the door to a room without knocking first. He couldn't get the image of his brother and Erza out of his head. He knew he had no right to be upset, but he couldn't help it.

"I guess," he mumbled, "somewhere in my mind, I thought there was still a chance that I could be with her." It started to rain and he couldn't help but think that the weather was mocking him. "I'm such a screw-up," he said, not bothering to try to keep dry. "She must not have forgiven me for all those years ago. So, now she's chosen Sieg over me."

"Are you talking to yourself?" a voice asked from behind him.

He stopped and looked over his shoulder to see two girls standing behind him, under a large umbrella. It was the shorter, pink-haired one that had spoken. She smiled at him, seeming slightly concerned. The taller, darker-haired one looked amused as she held the umbrella up. Jellal sighed and turned around to face them.

"Hello, Meredy," he greeted. "Ultear. Haven't seen you two in awhile."

"Where is Siegrain?" Ultear asked.

Jellal scowled. "At home," he said. "With Erza."

A strange expression passed over Ultear's face, but Jellal couldn't place it.

"Are they fighting?" she asked. "Over him stealing her clothing?"

"They _were_ ," Jellal said. "But, evidently, they made up."

"You seem upset by that," Meredy pointed out.

He shrugged. "It's none of my business," he said sullenly.

"But you like her, right?" she pressed.

Jellal sighed. "Yes," he admitted. "But that doesn't matter. I screwed up my chance with her."

"That wasn't entirely your fault," Ultear said.

"I had my own part in it," he said. "So, I have to take responsibility for it."

"And, that means you can't be with Erza?" Meredy asked.

Jellal shrugged again as the raindrops increased in size and frequency. He was completely drenched, but he didn't care. The dreary clouds matched his mood. The weather threw in some lightning and thunder for good measure. Jellal still didn't want to go back home.

"Why don't you come with us?" Ultear said. "You can have dinner at my house. Meredy and Lyon are coming over. I'm sure my mother won't mind one more."

"What about Gray?" Jellal asked. "He sometimes hangs out with you and Lyon, right?" _He might figure out that I'm pretending to be Myst if I meet him as Jellal._ Ultear said something about him having dinner with his foster home as Jellal thought of something else. "Hey, how did you know I was Jellal?"

Ultear smirked. "Sieg told me about Myst at school today," she said. "So, I knew you weren't him."

"Maybe I'm Siegrain then," he suggested, trying, and failing, to look at all confident.

"Siegrain doesn't wear hoodies."

Jellal looked down at his jacket, which was unzipped and doing little to protect him from the rain.

"Right," he said. "I guess he doesn't."

"Come with us!" Meredy insisted, grabbing his arm and pulling him under the umbrella.

He supposed he didn't really have a choice. Besides, it was better than going back home. He wondered if Erza was still there and sincerely hoped that she wasn't. His father had left for his trip already and Jellal hated the idea of Siegrain and Erza being alone together in the house. He pushed the thought away; it wasn't improving his mood.

"I can't believe he told you about Myst," Jellal grumbled as they walked. "He just flat out _told_ you?"

Ultear nodded. "He tells me a lot of things."

"But he didn't want anyone to find out," Jellal insisted. "So much so that he said I shouldn't talk to Erza since she would figure it out."

Ultear frowned. "I think he had other reasons for keeping you from talking to Erza," she said.

"Yeah, I guess so," Jellal sighed. "He did seem pretty upset when he found out she borrowed my clothes."

Ultear stopped walking and looked at him. "She was wearing your clothes?" she asked.

He nodded. "None of the girls had extras, so I gave her mine," he said. "It was a good thing I had extras. I don't even remember putting them into my bag."

"That's because Ultear put them there," Meredy said.

"What?" Jellal asked as Ultear put a hand over Meredy's mouth.

"Was he not supposed to know?" Meredy asked, her voice muffled.

"Why would you do that?" he asked.

"I knew Sieg was going to steal her clothes," Ultear said, letting her hand drop back to her side. "So I gave you some extra."

"You could have given _her_ some extra clothes instead," Jellal pointed out.

"I'm rooting for you, Jellal," she said. "I want you to be with Erza. I was trying to help you out. Apparently, it didn't work well."

"She _did_ hug me," he said. "That was a good result."

"Maybe it's working a little bit then," Meredy smiled. "We'll have to keep trying."

"Please don't," Jellal sighed. "I don't want to make Erza uncomfortable. And I don't want to force her to like me when she obviously likes Siegrain." He looked at Ultear. "Besides, shouldn't you be helping _him_ out? You're more friends with him than with me."

Ultear shrugged. "I think Erza belongs with you, that's all," she said.

"Plus-" Meredy started, but Ultear clamped a hand over her mouth again.

"Not another word, Meredy," she said.

"Are you coming in or not?" a voice called from the doorway of the house. They all looked up to see Lyon Vastia waiting for them. "Ur says dinner's almost ready."

-.-.-

They all settled in for dinner and Jellal listened to them talk, not really having anything significant to add.

"So, you are Siegrain?" Ur asked him at one point.

"No, Mother," Ultear said. "This is his brother, Jellal."

"I thought his brother's name was Myst."

"We're triplets," Jellal muttered.

"Ah, so, you go to Era then?" Ur asked. "I'm the science teacher at Fairy Hills High."

Jellal almost told her that he knew that, but caught himself just in time. Instead, he simply nodded. It was fortunate that Myst didn't need a science class anymore, since it would be much easier to avoid Ur at school. He wondered if he should have pretended to be Myst constantly and just let Jellal disappear. It would have been easier that way.

But then he _really_ would have to stay away from Erza. As much as it hurt to not be with her in a romantic sense, it would hurt even more to not be with her at all. He held back a sigh and kept a straight face all through dinner. Sorting through his emotions in front of other people wasn't the best of ideas. The rain was still pouring hard when it was time to leave.

"You could stay until it clears up," Ultear suggested.

"Thanks," he said. "But I should probably get home."

"Punch Sieg in the face for me," she smiled. "For stealing Erza's clothes."

"But, Ul-" Meredy tried to say something, but Ultear, once again, covered her mouth before she could.

Jellal decided that he didn't want to know; Ultear could be crazy sometimes. He trudged through the storm, his mood slightly improved by time with friends. At least Ultear and Meredy didn't hate him. They were the only ones, with the exception of his brothers, that knew that Sieg was the one who orchestrated the extortion of the student council. Jellal sighed and pulled his hood up, wondering if his life would ever improve.


	13. Thirteen - Myst Fernandes

**Thirteen - Myst Fernandes**

Myst was more than a little excited. Anima had been his favorite band for pretty much his entire life. They were the reason he became a musician in the first place. Going on tour with them was something he had dreamed of for years. He could hardly believe it was really happening.

"I hope Jellal is doing alright," he murmured. It had only been a day. How badly could he possibly be doing? "There's no turning back now," he told himself. "Jellal will be fine."

"Next stop: Edolas City," the train conductor announced.

Myst was ready to get off before they even reached the station. He didn't bring much with him. He planned to stay in disguise the whole time, so he didn't need extra clothes. He vaguely wondered what he would do if the clothes he was wearing got torn. Maybe he _would_ have needed that Home Economics class he signed up for.

The only reason he had taken it was because he knew that Jellal would be there in his place. He had overheard Erza talking about taking the class as well. In fact, he had tried his best to line up the classes Jellal would be taking with the ones Erza was signing up for. Siegrain probably wasn't happy about that, but Myst didn't really care. Sieg could be a dick and Jellal deserved to have a little more happiness in his life.

"Erza had better choose correctly," he sighed.

"Excuse me?" a voice asked, sounding a bit offended.

Myst turned to see who had spoken and was shocked to see a familiar girl standing in the aisle.

"Erza?" he asked, standing up.

"Who are you?" she asked. "How do you know me?"

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be at school?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business," she said, crossing her arms. "But I took the year off to follow the Anima tour."

Myst was confused. "I didn't know you even listened to Anima," he said.

"I think just about everyone in Edolas does," she countered.

"Edolas?" he repeated. "Wait. You're Erza Scarlet, right?"

She made a scoffing sound and put her hands on her hips. "Scarlet? What kind of stupid name is that?"

"Who are you then?" he asked.

"Erza _Knightwalker_ ," she said.

"No way," he breathed incredulously.

"Who is Erza _Scarlet_?" she asked.

"She- are you serious?" he asked. "You're not messing with me?"

"I don't even _know_ you," she said. "I'm pretty sure I don't, at least. I can't actually see you. I don't recognize you by your eyes, in any case. What's with the weird face coverings? And stupid pants?"

"You're less polite than Erza Scarlet," Myst pointed out.

"Who the hell is Erza Scarlet?" Erza Knightwalker demanded loudly, causing a few other passengers to look around.

Myst shrugged. "A girl I know that looks just like you," he said. "Obviously, you're not the same."

"So, there's a girl that looks like me and has the same name as me?" she asked. "That seems unlikely."

Myst shrugged again. "Maybe you're long-lost twins."

"With the same name?" she asked derisively.

"Maybe," he said. "My parents thought my brothers and I were twins and they only had two names picked out. I was almost named J- the same as my brother, until they realized there were three of us."

"You're a triplet?" she said. "There are two other weirdos like you?"

"We look the same. We're not alike."

"What do you three look like then?" she asked, reaching for his mask.

He grabbed her wrist and halted her progress. He felt a strange spark as she scowled up at him.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," he said. She tried to pull out of his grasp, but he didn't let her. _She's Erza,_ he thought. _But, she's not. I feel weird._

"Let me go," she commanded.

"I'll see you later," he said, releasing her arm.

"Don't count on it," she huffed, turning and walking away. Her ponytail swished behind her and Myst couldn't help but watch her walk.

 _What is wrong with me?_ he wondered. _I've never had this reaction to Erza Scarlet. Sure, she's beautiful, but I've never had feelings for her._

Erza Knightwalker sat down in her seat, crossing her arms and glaring at Myst, who was still watching her. The train came to a shuddering stop and a few passengers, including Erza, got up to leave. Erza shoved past Myst as he made his way to the door. He just smirked behind his mask and let her disembark before him. When he stepped onto the platform, he saw her join two guys and a short girl.

"Oh look!" the girl said. "Isn't that Mystogan?"

"Why would he be _here_ , Coco?" Erza asked, looking around. "And how do you even know what he looks like?"

"I saw his picture on the Anima website," Coco said, pointing at Myst. "I don't think anyone else would dress like that."

Erza locked eyes with Myst. Once she realized that Coco was speaking of him, she looked pissed. "You have got to be fucking kidding me," she said. " _He_ is Mystogan?"

Myst waved casually at her.

"You met him already?" one of the guys asked. "No fair, Knightwalker!"

"Calm down, Sugarboy," the other guy said. "You'll meet him later."

"Hughes, go get me his autograph," Sugarboy said.

"Get it yourself," Hughes scoffed.

"Did you really meet him?" Coco asked Erza.

"On the train," the redhead responded, still glowering as he passed by her. "I can't believe this."

"I told you that I'd see you later, Erza," he said, hoping the smirk was evident in his voice. It seemed to be, because she narrowed her eyes. "For the whole tour, in fact."

"Did he just call Knightwalker 'Erza'?" Sugarboy whispered to Hughes.

"Can we call you 'Erza' now?" Hughes asked.

Myst heard her telling them off as he walked away. He made a mental note to _always_ call her by her first name. It pleased him to irritate her, though he wasn't sure why. Maybe he was a bit like Siegrain after all. He sighed, but then smiled.

"This is going to be fun."


	14. Fourteen - Erza Scarlet

**Fourteen - Erza Scarlet**

It had been a few weeks since the incident with Siegrain, and Erza hadn't returned to the Fernandes house once. She didn't know how she would react if she saw him. She even kept her distance from Jellal as much as she could. He made her just as flustered as Siegrain did, though he wasn't trying to. It wasn't really fair to him, she supposed.

He seemed very dejected recently, and she wasn't sure why. He rarely made eye contact with her, even when she was interacting with him. In Home Economics, on Friday, she decided she would try to cheer him up. She sat down next to him and he glanced up at her. She smiled, but he only halfheartedly returned it.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Hello," he mumbled, staring at his hands, which were clasped on the table.

"Guess where we're going today?"

"'We' who?" he asked.

"You and I," she clarified.

"You and I," he repeated slowly, "together?"

"Yes," she said, amused by his slightly dazed expression. "We are going to the planetarium."

"Why?" he asked. "Not that I don't want to!" he added quickly. "I just don't understand why."

"Because you seem sad and I feel like I haven't hung out with you in awhile," she said. "And you like the planetarium, right?"

"Yeah," he said, a small smile finally appearing on his face.

"I think he wants to go for an entirely different reason," Mirajane whispered, sticking her head in between them.

Jellal turned bright red and Erza looked away. Mira _had_ to go and make things awkward.

"He likes _stars_ , Mira," Erza grumbled.

"And you're the brightest star in his sky," she sang, returning to the front of the room and leaving Jellal and Erza to get over their blushing.

"So, do you want to go?" Erza asked eventually.

"Yeah, of course," he responded with a genuine smile. Erza loved to see that expression on his face. Then it faded slightly. "What about Sieg?" he asked.

She grimaced. "What _about_ him?" she asked.

"Doesn't he want to see you tonight?"

She shrugged. "It doesn't really matter what he wants, does it?" she asked.

"Doesn't it?" Jellal asked confusedly.

" _I_ want to go to the planetarium with my best friend," she said. "And I'm going to."

Jellal turned away, but not before Erza saw the look of joy mixed with incredulity come over him. She smiled, but couldn't say anymore, since Mirajane had started teaching.

-.-.-

The moment the end of school bell rang, Jellal was on his feet and grinning at Erza. She smiled back and stood up, gathering her books. Gym had been substituted for health class that day, so she hadn't brought a bag with a change of clothes. That meant that she had to carry her books, but she didn't really mind. Jellal, however, lifted them out of her hands.

"I'll carry them," he said with a smile.

"You don't have to-"

"I _want_ to," he insisted, holding them out of her reach until she acquiesced.

She couldn't stop the flutter in her heart. She was walking down the hall with the guy she liked, who was carrying her books for her. It seemed silly to be so pleased about it, but she couldn't help it. Jellal seemed happy as well, so she just sighed and followed him outside. When they got to the parking lot, she realized that she had a problem.

"Oh," she said. "I don't know how we're getting there."

Jellal tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean?" he asked. "We're driving, right?"

"I don't have a car," she pointed out.

"No," he agreed. "But _I_ do."

"Since when?" she asked.

"Since my dad left on yet another business trip and gave me access to his," he shrugged.

"You can't be serious," she said, recalling that his father's car was extremely expensive and not at all practical to let a teenage boy drive.

"I'm always serious."

Jellal held up the keys with a smile. Erza just sighed and shook her head in amusement. He seemed very excited about the planetarium. She blushed as he grabbed her by the wrist, but he was only pulling her along to the very pretty car near the front of the parking lot. He opened her door for her and she felt like she was going on a date.

 _A date!_ she thought frantically. _Is that what he thinks this is? Is that what_ I _think this is? Are we going on a date?_ She looked down at her clothes as Jellal shut her door and went around to the driver's side. "I'm not dressed well enough!"

"Well enough for what?" Jellal asked, dropping into the driver's seat and looking at Erza in confusion.

"Ah! Nothing!" she said. "I'm only talking to myself."

"There isn't a dress code for the planetarium," he said. "Even if there was, _you_ look nice, but I sure don't in a t-shirt and hoodie."

Erza was hardly hearing what he was talking about, focusing on how he had said she looked nice. She smoothed her skirt nervously.

"I just don't normally go places in my school clothes," she mumbled.

"You look beautiful in anything," he said, starting up the engine. "So, don't worry about it."

Erza was unable to speak for several moments. She failed miserably at keeping the blush from taking over her face.

 _He's so much nicer to me than Sieg is,_ she thought. _How could I ever be confused?_

-.-.-

The car ride was fun. Erza wondered if Jellal had been trying to impress her as he sped around. He kept smiling over at her and making her heart thud against her ribcage. When they got to the planetarium, he insisted on opening her door for her again. Her plan to cheer him up seemed to be going well, but it also was making her so flustered that she could barely function.

"Two tickets for the First-Class show at four-forty-five," Jellal said when they reached the ticket window. Erza started to pull out her wallet, but he placed his hand over hers. "I've got it," he said.

"Jellal," she protested, trying to ignore the feeling of his hand on hers. " _I'm_ the one bringing _you_ here, remember?"

"Because I was sad, right?" he recalled. She nodded, but he didn't remove his hand. "Well, if you want to make me happier, you'll let me pay for us."

"Uhh," she said, her resolve weakening when he smiled down at her. He had already paid for the tickets by the time she collected her scattered thoughts again. Still grinning, he led her to a door with a large number one on it. "What is the First-Class show?" she asked.

"The best one," he said. "The other ones are only there for field trips and small family outings."

"And what is this one for?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Special occasions, I guess," he said. "It's worth the extra cost. You'll see."

"How much extra cost?" she asked. "On their website they don't list a First-Class show. They only list the regular shows for twelve dollars a ticket."

"Well, you have to know the show is there," he admitted. "And it does cost a bit more than twelve dollars."

"How much more?" she asked.

"It's not important," he said, holding the door open for her. "Just enjoy the show."

"Jellal," she said. "Tell me how much you just spent on me."

He drew closer, as if to whisper in her ear, so she leaned in, waiting for his answer.

"No," he whispered.

"Jellal!" she protested.

"Shh!" he said. "The show will start soon. We need to get to our seats."

Erza grumbled, determined to figure out the answer later. She forgot her frustration as she entered the room.

"Wow!" she gasped, looking up at the massive, domed ceiling.

"Amazing, isn't it?" he said. "Come sit. It gets better."

She followed him to two empty seats near the center of the room. A few other couples were seated already, which confirmed Erza's suspicions that she was on a very date-like outing. The chairs they sat in were very comfortable and reclined almost completely. There were only armrests on one side of every other seat, so there was nothing separating Erza from Jellal but about four inches of air. She tried not to think about how close they were.

The lights went down, everyone reclined their seats, and the show began. Stars studded the dome, creating a remarkably realistic image of the night sky. Though, it was the sky seen from up in the mountains or way out in the country, where there were no city lights to get in the way. It was breathtakingly beautiful as it moved and as the audio playing over the speakers brought attention to various constellations. Jellal quietly pointed out ones the tape missed.

"Stars must be your favorite thing," she whispered playfully.

He gave her a sidelong glance that sped her heartbeat up considerably. "Yeah," he said slowly, though, Erza got the distinct impression that he wasn't agreeing with her. "That's why I was excited about coming here."

 _He's lying,_ she thought. _Why? Is he trying to flirt? Or am I reading him all wrong?_

He continued telling her about different stars, and she tried her best to look at the stars and not at him. Occasionally, she would glance over at him and his eyes would meet hers. Was he watching her, or was he coincidentally looking at her every time she looked at him? She couldn't help but watch his face as he looked back up at the false sky and quietly told her stories about the stars. He pointed out Aquila.

"Altair is Aquila's brightest star," he was saying. "It's part of a myth related to another bright star, Vega, in the Summer Triangle." He pointed toward Vega. "Altair represents a royal herdsman and Vega is the Sun king. The herdsman falls in love with the king's daughter and marries her, but they are banished to opposite sides of the river." He swished his finger down the line of the Milky Way. "So, they can't be together anymore."

"That's sad," Erza whispered. He nodded and dropped his arm to his side, his hand falling so close to hers that they were nearly touching. She wondered if he would try to hold her hand, but he didn't make any move to do so. Disappointed, she decided to speak instead of think about it. "So, how have you been?"

He shrugged. "Better today."

"Are you missing your dad at all?"

"I hardly see him as it is," he said. "Besides, I've been at Ultear's house most days since he left."

Erza stiffened. "Ultear?" she repeated.

"Didn't you notice I wasn't home?" he asked. He almost sounded hurt, but Erza wasn't sure why. How could she know that he wasn't home? She hadn't been to his house in weeks. "She's been helping me sort things out," he murmured.

That was it. Erza's world was shattering. She _had_ been reading him wrong. He didn't think they were on a date. He didn't even like her.

"That's nice of her," Erza said, doing her best to keep her voice from shaking. "You like... You like hanging out with her?" she asked.

"Sure," he said. "She's been a good friend."

"I thought she was friends with Sieg," Erza remarked.

"You can be friends with more than one person, Erza," Jellal said, looking at her with a strange expression. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said. "I just didn't realize that you and Ultear were so close."

She wasn't fine. She knew she was being silly and unreasonable. It wasn't fair to be upset that he didn't want to be with her. Still, she felt crushed. She had finally decided on her feelings and it didn't end up mattering.

"Thank you for coming to our show!" an announcer said as the lights came up.

Erza stood up and took a deep breath. Jellal looked concerned, but didn't say anything. They walked out to the parking lot in silence. He still opened her door for her, but it didn't seem as special as it had before. She just sighed and slid into her seat.


	15. Fifteen - Jellal Fernandes

**Fifteen - Jellal Fernandes**

They had almost reached the Fairy Tail foster home before either of them said a word.

"I'm not sure what you're angry about, Erza," Jellal sighed. "I thought we were having a good time."

"I'm not angry," she said. "You can do whatever you want."

"What did I do?" he asked desperately. He had been so happy, spending time with her. Of course he would mess it up in some way. "I _only_ want to do things that don't upset you."

She gave him an unreadable look. "I don't want to talk about this anymore," she said. "You didn't do anything _wrong_."

The way she said the word 'wrong' made him certain that he had seriously screwed up. He went over everything he had done and said through the entire show. She had seemed perfectly happy through most of it. He tried to recall the last thing he said before she started to get upset. Maybe she didn't appreciate the story about Altair.

That must have been it. How stupid could he be, telling her a story about people in love? He had made things awkward. She was with Siegrain and he had no right to talk about such things with her. It wasn't as if they were on a date.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Maybe we shouldn't have gone to this together."

"Wh-what?" He looked over at her, surprised by her hurt tone of voice. She looked devastated and he was so confused that he had to pull the car over to the side of the road. "You don't even want to hang out with me anymore?" she asked.

"What?" He was utterly bewildered. "Why in the world would you think that? _You've_ been the one avoiding _me_."

" _You've_ been at Ultear's anyway," she pointed out. "You don't even _need_ me to try to cheer you up."

"Erza, I don't-"

"Just forget it," she said, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening her door.

"Wait!" Jellal called after her.

"I'll walk the rest of the way," she said, slamming the door behind her.

Jellal wasn't having any of that. It was dark already and they were still miles from Fairy Tail. He turned off the car and got out, running after her. He grabbed her wrist, halting her. A car turned a corner and headed down the road towards them.

"Please, get back in the car," he said. She pulled out of his grasp and started walking again. "Erza, I don't understand."

"Obviously," she scoffed. To both of their surprise, the car coming towards them slowed to a stop. They looked at it as the driver's door opened and someone got out, but it was hard to tell who it was through the glare of the headlights. As he came closer, Erza recognized him first. "Simon?"

"Are you alright, Erza?" he asked. "Why are you two out here?"

"Jellal and I were at the planetarium," she said.

Simon glared at Jellal. "Oh, this one is Jellal."

Erza looked confused about Simon's tone, but Jellal understood. He had every right to be upset.

"Hello, Simon," he said calmly.

"Don't even talk to me," Simon scowled. Erza looked between the two boys with raised eyebrows. "Why the hell are you out here with Erza?"

"She just told you," Jellal reminded him. "We went to the planetarium."

"Simon, calm down," Erza said. "Why are you so upset?"

"How can you be with this guy?" Simon asked her. "He's a complete jerk."

"Simon!" she reprimanded. "Why would you say that?"

He gestured to Jellal angrily. "Do you not know what he did?" he asked. "I'll bet he didn't tell you."

Jellal's heart was beating fast. He wished that Simon would just shut up. Erza was the last person he wanted to find out about the threats. There was no way to explain himself to her. He would lose her friendship, which was the only thing he had left with her.

"Jellal, what did you do?" she asked warily.

"Let's go, Erza," he said. "We'll talk about it later."

"He extorted nearly the entire Era Student Council!" Simon accused. "Didn't you wonder why he was expelled?"

Erza looked at Jellal, eyes wide. "You didn't," she breathed, after a moment of silence. "Right? There's no way."

"He admitted to it," Simon told her. "And now he's pretending he's done nothing wrong."

"I-" Jellal started to protest, but knew there was nothing he could say. "Listen, Erza-"

"I can't believe it," she murmured. She almost looked like she was about to cry and it hurt Jellal to see her so desolate. "I really am an idiot."

"You're not," Simon said, stealing the words from Jellal's mouth. "Don't look so sad. I'll drive you home."

She just nodded and followed him to his car. Jellal stood in the street, at a loss for words. They got in the car and drove away and he was still rooted to the spot. It took him a long time to regain the ability to move or think of anything other than Erza's horribly disappointed expression. He climbed back into his father's car and drove home.

-.-.-

"Where have _you_ been?" Siegrain asked when he walked through the door.

"The planetarium," he responded simply.

"By yourself?" Ultear asked. Jellal hadn't noticed her standing just behind Sieg before.

"No," he said. "But I guess now I'll be by myself forever."

Sieg seemed confused, but Ultear smiled sadly. "Were you there with a certain girl that we've been discussing?" she asked. He nodded and Sieg looked between the two of them, eyes narrowed.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"None of your business, Siegrain," she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder and stepping past him. "Let's go talk, Jellal."

"We're still discussing the student council, Ultear," Sieg protested.

"We have the whole weekend for that," she waved him off, ascending the stairs. "Jellal needs my help right now."

Siegrain didn't seem happy, but he didn't stop Jellal and Ultear from heading up to Jellal's room.

-.-.-

"You are a complete idiot," Ultear said, her face in her hand.

"I don't know what I did wrong," Jellal groaned.

"Why would you tell her that you're going to another girl's house every day?" she asked.

"Because it's true?" he suggested.

"Because you're an idiot," she reiterated. "Now she thinks you and I are together."

"But, we're not," he said.

"She thinks we are though," Ultear said. "And now, since you got her mad enough to get out of your car, she knows about the student council fiasco. It might help if you told her it was mostly Sieg."

"I can't," he said. "She's with him now. He'd kill me if I ruined that."

"First of all, she isn't with Siegrain," Ultear said. "Second, Sieg is a-"

"What do you mean?" Jellal asked. "I saw them together..."

"Doing what?" she asked.

"They were about to kiss," he grumbled.

" _Did_ they kiss?"

"I left before they did," he said. "I didn't want to see it."

"They _didn't_ ," she told him. "Sieg told me everything. He tried to kiss her and she pushed him away, saying she was confused about her feelings."

"Confused?" he repeated, identifying with the emotion.

"He also told me that he hasn't seen her since then," Ultear continued. "She hasn't been back to this house."

"Dammit," Jellal sighed. "So, was tonight supposed to be-?"

"I assure you," Ultear said, "Erza thought — or at least hoped — that you were on a date."

"I'm an idiot," he said.

"Yes, you are."

"How can I fix it?" he asked.

"I don't know if you can, at this point," she shrugged. "Just wait and see if she decides to forgive you."


	16. Sixteen - Lucy Heartfilia

**Sixteen - Lucy Heartfilia**

It was an unfortunately rainy day. Lucy watched the drops stream down the window as she waited for school to end. As soon as the bell rang, she joined Levy, Jet, and Droy on their way to book club. They couldn't use their homeroom, like they usually did, because art club was meeting there. Their club activity for the day was to find a new place to meet.

"We could always meet at the house," Lucy suggested. "Since we all live there anyway."

"That's true," Levy agreed. "Plus, almost no one will be there for a few hours since they're still here."

With that, they set off, towards Fairy Tail, umbrellas open above them. When they got closer to the house, something seemed wrong. Lucy noticed that the door was hanging off of its hinges. She gasped and ran forward, followed by the others. Things were strewn about and some of the windows were smashed in.

"What happened?" Jet asked angrily.

"I'll go get help!" Lucy said, running back towards the school, ignoring the rain. The first people she found were two members of the karate club. Perfect. "Natsu! Gray!" she exclaimed, running up to them as they prepared to fight each other. "Where is Headmaster Makarov? Someone broke into Fairy Tail!"

"What?" they asked in shock.

"Who?" Gray asked.

"I'll kill 'em!" Natsu shouted.

"What did I just hear?" Makarov asked, entering the dojo.

"Headmaster Makarov!" Lucy said, turning to the old man. "I don't know what happened, but Levy, Jet, Droy, and I went back to the house and found it torn apart!"

"Let's go," Makarov said, leading them out.

They were joined by most of the other Fairy Tail kids as they walked. The house was in the same state Lucy had left it in when they arrived. Everyone was surprised and upset, but Makarov tried to calm them down, telling them they could fix it. Lucy wondered where Levy and the others had gone. That's when she saw figures lying in the street.

"No!" she cried out, running towards them.

Everyone followed her to find Levy, Jet, and Droy lying in the street, beaten and bruised. Levy had a strange symbol painted on her stomach, which was visible because her shirt had been torn, but was running slightly from the rain. As everyone moved forward to help their friends, Makarov seethed. He was practically shaking with anger. Gray took a closer look at the mark painted on Levy.

"It's that gang, Phantom Lord," he spat.

"Those bastards are going to pay!" Natsu shouted, looking around as if to see where the culprits were.

"Destroying my home is one thing," Makarov growled. "But my children... How dare they... This... This is war!"

Lucy knew Fairy Tail to be very dramatic, but she knew this situation was different. This was a serious matter. Someone called Porlyusica, the school nurse. Technically, she was a doctor, but she didn't want to work at the hospital, so she just helped out Makarov. Lucy stayed with Levy, Jet, and Droy as everyone else followed Makarov to find out where Phantom Lord was.

She hoped they didn't get themselves into any trouble. She had grown so attached to them over the past several days. They were so kind to her and accepted her so readily into their home. She started to cry. Why would anyone attack Fairy Tail?

"Gihihi," a voice laughed.

She started to turn around to see a tall boy with too many piercings, and a girl with a big parasol, which was unnecessary indoors.

"Who are you?" Lucy demanded. They looked like bad news. "Get out of here!"

"Are you Lucy Heartfilia?" the guy asked.

"Juvia thinks so," the girl said.

"Time to go," the boy said.

That was the last thing Lucy remembered.


	17. Seventeen - Gray Fullbuster

**Seventeen - Gray Fullbuster**

Gray was pissed off enough as it was. They had burst into the warehouse Phantom Lord was hanging out in. It was amazing how well a bunch of high school age, foster kids could hold up against a street gang. A lot of people had gotten hurt though, and all they'd managed to do was find out that the one that attacked their friends wasn't even there. Then, one of the Phantom Lord members got a phone call.

"Yeah, what?" he demanded into the receiver end of his cell phone. "We're kinda busy at the moment!" The guy's expression shifted from annoyed to pleased as the person on the other end spoke. "You have the Heartfilia girl? Good! Get her back to main base. Don't come here. The Fairy Tail kids showed up and- erk!"

"What did you just say?" the guy was cut short as Natsu grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Natsu narrowed his eyes as the guy struggled to breathe. "Are you talking about Lucy?"

"I don't know, man," the guy choked as Natsu dragged him outside. "Let me go!"

"Where is Lucy?!" Natsu shouted, throwing the guy to the ground. The others gathered around to stop him from crawling away. Natsu kicked him in the side and he curled into the fetal position. Everyone was glaring at him, but Natsu looked especially furious. "Why do you bastards have her?!"

"Gajeel and Juvia are taking her to the main base!" the guy exclaimed, cowering. "I swear, that's all I know!"

Natsu kicked him again. "Where is your base?" he demanded as the guy coughed up a bit of blood.

"You won't make it in time anyway," the guy said. "I don't know what they're planning to do with her, but she probably doesn't have long."

Natsu pulled a lighter out of his pocket and flipped it open. A flame sparked to life and he held it near the hem of the Phantom Lord member's shirt. The guy's eyes widened in fear and a few Fairy Tail kids averted their eyes. Gray wondered how Natsu had gotten that lighter back after it had been confiscated, but he didn't try to stop him. They had to do something to find Lucy.

"Where the hell is she?" Natsu growled.

"F-fine! I'll fuckin' tell you!" the guy yelped. "Base is under Metallicana's! The bar on the edge of town!"

Natsu put the lighter away and left the guy lying in the street. "Let's go!" he said to the rest of the foster kids.

"Where is Headmaster Makarov?" Erza asked.

"He's been injured!" Cana exclaimed. "We've got to take him home."

"Let's go there first then," Erza reasoned. "We need his help."

"Screw that!" Natsu said, running off. "You guys take him home. _I'm_ going to get Lucy!"

Erza sighed, but let him go. "Gray," she said, turning to him. "Go make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble. And that the whole city doesn't go down in flames." She helped Cana prop up a nearly unconscious Makarov as Gray nodded and ran after Natsu.

-.-.-

After several minutes of running, Gray realized that Natsu had gotten too much of a head start. Besides that, Gray had no clue where Metallicana's was or where he was going. He hoped Natsu found the place alright. He also hoped it didn't end up on fire. Lucy could get hurt.

Gray slowed to a walk and began looking at his surroundings. He only had a vague idea of where he was and it had started to rain again. His cell phone had vanished with the last pair of pants he had lost, so he couldn't figure out directions. He sighed and turned down an alley, stopping short when he saw someone standing at the other end. She had blue hair and a large, pink umbrella.

"Who are you?" Gray asked as she stared him down and didn't get out of his way. "What is a girl doing in a back alley in this kind of weather?"

"It is Juvia," she said. "Juvia has been sent to stop Fairy kids from following Gajeel."

"You're from Phantom?" Gray asked, recalling hearing their names from the guy Natsu had nearly lit on fire. "That means we have a problem. Just so you know, I don't care if you're a girl. You hurt my friends and I won't go easy on you."

Juvia stared at him for a moment. Then she blushed and promptly spun on her heel.

"Y-yes! Juvia has lost this battle," she squeaked. "Farewell!"

"What?" Gray exclaimed. "Don't just walk away from me! Where is your base?" He reached out to grab her, but she turned and tackled him to the ground before he got the chance. "Ahh! Ow! Get off!"

He felt something sharp in his side and wondered what he had fallen on. Juvia's face went through a range of emotions that Gray couldn't hope to follow. He shoved her off of himself and she fell to the ground. He stood up and pulled his shirt off. He examined his wound.

A pointed rock had stuck into him when he fell. He was bleeding, but he would be fine. He glared at Juvia again, who seemed to be blushing. This was the weirdest fight he had ever been in. She got to her feet and sighed, dusting herself off.

"Right, we are enemies," she mumbled. She turned her gaze back to him and attacked him again. "Farewell, sweet flower of love!"

"What the hell is she saying?" he wondered, doing his best to avoid her attacks and fight back.

"It is impossible for you to defeat Juvia," she said after a few moments. She _was_ a good fighter. Gray was hardly landing a single hit, her movements were so fluid. "But you don't have to lose. Just allow Phantom Lord to have Lucy and the fighting stops."

"Don't be stupid," he scoffed. "That's never going to happen. Lucy is our nakama now. I won't leave her with you, even if I die."

Juvia dropped her umbrella as a horrified look came over her face. She started to cry and Gray was becoming increasingly confused. Suddenly, she snapped. Her expression shifted to one of pure rage. Overtaken by emotion, she shouted at the sky.

"This cannot be forgiven!" she screamed. "Juvia will never forgive Lucy!"

"What the hell?" Gray muttered, taking a step back. "Why's she mad at Lucy?"

Juvia started attacking again, fighting with renewed vigor. Gray was having trouble keeping up. He sustained more injuries while she remained largely unscathed. Fed up with that, Gray waited for an opening and leapt at her, fighting more viciously.

"I don't need love!" she exclaimed.

Gray still wasn't sure what she was talking about, but he didn't care anymore.

"I won't lose!" he shouted. "Not to someone like Phantom Lord!"

With that, he delivered a blow to her stomach that sent her flying backwards. She hit a grouping of trashcans and collapsed. He waited for her to get back up, but she didn't. Cautiously, he approached her. She was unconscious.

"Great," he sighed, checking her pulse to make sure she hadn't died. "I suppose I can't just leave her here."

-.-.-

It was at least ten minutes before he found a hospital. The rain had cleared up and Juvia had begun to stir. Gray was carrying her on his back, so he turned his head to look at her. Her eyes blinked open and he smirked at her confused expression. She looked around and at the sky, which was blue since the clouds had vanished.

"The sky..." Juvia breathed. "It's beautiful."

 _She's insane,_ Gray thought. "You don't want to go at it again, do you?" he asked, not really up for continuing to fight her. At his words, she flushed bright red and passed out again. _What is a girl like this doing with Phantom?_ he wondered, passing through the emergency room doors.


	18. Eighteen - Natsu Dragneel

**Eighteen - Natsu Dragneel**

Natsu was getting tired of running. He was only halfway to Phantom Lord's base and there was no telling what could be happening to Lucy. His refusal to let anything bad happen to her spurred him to move faster. He turned a corner and smacked right into something painful. It was a car.

"Oww," he groaned as the driver's door opened.

A large, muscular, dark skinned man stepped out and approached Natsu. Two young kids jumped out of the car as well. A little girl with white hair and a boy about the same age with blue hair. Natsu smiled as he recognized the boy. He was a Fairy Tail kid that went to Fairy Hills Middle School.

"Happy!"

"Natsu!" Happy exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Natsu said. "Hey, can you give me a ride? It's an emergency."

"I'm sure we can, right?" the girl said, turning to the man who was helping Natsu to his feet.

"Sure," the man said. "You're Natsu Dragneel, right? My name is Pantherlily."

Natsu would have commented on the weird name if he hadn't been in such a hurry. He hopped into the car and told Pantherlily where to drive. The car was fast, but Natsu couldn't help but wish they could go even faster. As soon as Metallicana's was in sight, he jumped out of the still moving car. He headed straight for the stairs leading down, under the bar.

He broke the door off of its hinges when he burst into the room. There were a few people inside, looking shocked, but he zeroed in on his target. Gajeel Redfox was standing in the center of the room. Natsu had seen him before, even had a scuffle once, but this time was different. He noticed Lucy pinned to the wall and saw that Gajeel had been throwing knives at the wall around her like darts.

"Natsu!" Lucy gasped, relieved tears in her eyes.

Happy had rushed inside after Natsu, who had told the whole story in the car. Natsu let the kid free Lucy while he focused on Gajeel. The fight was arguably the most intense fight Natsu had been in yet. They were pretty evenly matched for strength and skill. The problem was, Gajeel had the distinct advantage of a large, iron pipe that he pulled from one of his belt loops.

"Oh, shit," Natsu grumbled, dodging the first swing. "This is going to suck."

It was amazing that Natsu was able to fight back at all. He sustained several injuries, which only served to make his attacks weaker as the fight went on. He needed a step up, something he knew how to handle. He reached into his pocket, still without a real plan, but it was empty. He searched his other pockets, but found nothing.

"Lose something, punk?" Gajeel asked, spinning the pipe around with a grin.

"Natsu, how can I help?" Lucy called out. Natsu glanced over to see that Happy had helped her down. She was injured, but seemed mostly alright.

"Fire!" he told her.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" she exclaimed.

Natsu didn't have the chance to respond. He was busy being thrown against the wall. He vaguely wondered how many bones he had broken already. Mostly, however he just thought about how much it pissed him off that he wasn't winning. He wasn't sure how much longer he could go on fighting.

He collapsed to the ground as Gajeel stood over him. As he raised the pipe to strike again, something slid across the floor. The shiny object skidded to a stop next to Natsu. It took a moment for him to realize what it was. When he did, he quickly snatched it up.

"My lighter," he breathed. "Good job, Luce."

He flicked it open and, without further ado, lit the edge of Gajeel's long shirt. It immediately went up in flames, quickly enveloping Gajeel, who roared in pain. The other Phantom members scrambled for the exit as Gajeel rolled on the floor. The carpet caught fire and Natsu decided that it was time to leave. However, he was unable to lift himself off of the ground.

"Natsu, come on!" Lucy shouted as flames began taking over the room.

"Happy, get her out!" Natsu called back. "Hurry!"

"You moron!" Lucy scolded. "I won't leave you here to die!"

"Go!" he insisted. He lifted his head enough to see Happy dragging her out the door. She was struggling, but then a large figure stepped in and picked her up. "Thanks, Pantherlily," Natsu murmured, starting to lose consciousness.

-.-.-

The next thing he knew, he was on some sort of bed with tubes in his arms. He looked around and realized he was in a hospital room. How had that happened? He was pretty out of it and wondered what kind of medicine he was on. He continued looking around until he realized he wasn't the only patient in the room.

"Gajeel," he said. The Phantom Lord member's eyes were open, but he didn't acknowledge Natsu's greeting. "The silent treatment?" Natsu asked. "You don't need to be a baby just because I beat you."

"Tch," was the only response he got.

Natsu waited a moment before trying again at conversation.

"So, how did we get here?"

"What about my ignoring you makes you think I want to talk?" Gajeel grumbled.

"Oh, good," Natsu said. "I was afraid I had burned your vocal chords."

"You pyromaniac bastard," Gajeel accused.

Natsu shrugged, and immediately regretted the action as it sent a sharp pain through his entire body.

"I have a question," he said, wincing as he settled back into a comfortable position. "Why the hell would you join a gang like Phantom Lord?"

"That's none of your business!"

"You must make your parents proud," Natsu said sarcastically.

"Shut the hell up!" Gajeel shouted. "I don't give a damn! My parents are gone anyway!"

"Oh yeah?" Natsu asked. "Is that why you joined a gang? That's stupid."

"Shut the hell up!" Gajeel said again. "I don't want to hear that crap from the likes of you!"

"When I lost my parents, I went to Fairy Tail," Natsu said. "A much better decision, really. I must be a lot smarter than you."

"Why you- Augh!" Gajeel had tried to get up, but fell back down, obviously in pain.

"You probably shouldn't move a whole lot," Natsu suggested. "It looks like you've got some pretty severe burns."

"That's your fault, you bastard!"

"You shouldn't have kidnapped Lucy," Natsu said, matter-of-factly. "Don't mess with Fairy Tail."

"We didn't kidnap her to mess with Fairy Tail. That was just a bonus," Gajeel spat. "We were hired to bring her back to her father."

"What?" Natsu asked. "Don't lie to me. Why would you beat her up and throw knives at her if you needed to get her back home."

Gajeel shrugged and cried out in pain. After he recovered from that, he answered. "I don't really give a damn what her father wants," he growled. "I just thought it was fun. So was destroying your house."

"You son of a bitch," Natsu said, glaring. "You're all kinds of messed up in the head, aren't you? I bet you're lying. I bet you're really a big teddy bear."

"What the hell did you just call me?" Gajeel demanded.

"Let me know if you ever get over your need to act tough," Natsu said.

Gajeel just spluttered indignantly as Natsu rolled over and went back to sleep.


	19. Nineteen - Erza Scarlet

**Nineteen - Erza Scarlet**

At school, Erza tried her best not to let it show that she was hurting. She had fought several of Phantom Lord's members and sustained many injuries. The first half of the day wasn't too bad. Theater was the only morning class that generally involved movement, and they had decided to have a movie day instead of class. After lunch, things got more difficult.

History was easy, though she dreaded it because it was becoming increasingly difficult to avoid Jellal. Fortunately, he wasn't trying to talk to her. Instead, he had sat in the corner at lunchtime and stared down at the table, not even eating anything. He was acting very similarly in class. She wasn't ready to figure out what was going on with him.

Gym was going to be the hard class. Many of the students in the class were injured in some way. Even Coach Elfman had been in the fight against Phantom. They were supposed to be playing basketball, but only Jellal and Virgo had full range of movement. Erza noticed Jellal lean over to Virgo; he had been avoiding everyone from Fairy Tail, so she was the only person there he could talk to.

"What happened to everyone?" he asked the pink-haired girl.

"Fairy Tail got attacked by Phantom Lord," Virgo told him.

His eyes widened and he looked over at Erza. Their gazes met for the first time since Friday night. His face showed concern, but she looked away. She was still angry. She never thought that he would be capable of such terrible things.

"Let's forget the sports today," Elfman groaned, sitting down on the bleachers.

"Let's take a nap instead," Natsu suggested, lying down on the floor.

"A manly nap," Elfman agreed.

Erza sat in the corner and took some time to think over the situation with Jellal. She had been so distracted all weekend that she had been able to ignore it. But she had to deal with it at some point. He had never been the type of person to threaten people to get his own way. It was hard to believe.

He hadn't denied it, though; according to Simon, he had even admitted to it. And, if he hadn't been expelled from Era, then how could he be at Fairy Hills? It all fit together perfectly; everything made sense, except that Erza still had feelings. Despite it all, she was pretty certain that she loved him. She drew her knees up to her chest and rested her cheek on them, covering her head with her arms.

"What's wrong with Erza?" she heard Gray ask someone quietly.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure," Lucy whispered. "But she came home crying on Friday night, after being out with Myst."

"What?" Natsu asked loudly, making Erza cringe. "Don't be ridiculous. She doesn't cry."

"Well, she did on Friday."

"That bastard," Natsu growled. "I'll kill him."

 _Oh no,_ Erza thought, lifting her head to see Natsu getting to his feet as he glared at Jellal. The blue-haired boy was sitting in the opposite corner from Erza, staring at the ground. He looked up when Natsu approached him. _This is going to be bad._

"You made Erza cry!" Natsu accused.

Jellal looked shocked for a moment, but then the expression faded and he stood up.

"I know," he said. "I-"

His words were cut off when Natsu punched him in the face. Erza stood up quickly as Jellal stumbled backwards. Natsu grabbed him by the collar and held him up, glaring at him. One of the wounds on Natsu's arm reopened, but he ignored it. Erza started forward as Natsu yelled at Jellal.

"You son of a bitch!" he exclaimed. "What the hell did you do to her?!"

Before Jellal could say anything, Erza pulled Natsu away from him.

"Let it go, Natsu," she said. "It doesn't matter." It did matter. "I'm over it." She wasn't over it. "I'm over him." She definitely wasn't over him.

"This jerk-"

"I know," she said, noticing Jellal's devastated expression. Her words had hurt him. She wouldn't take them back, though. She had to stay strong. "It's better to just forget about him."

She dragged Natsu away, though he didn't seem happy about it. She wasn't going to tell anyone the reason Jellal had made her upset. She knew that Myst needed help, so she'd leave that alone for the moment. Everyone could think whatever they wanted. And Jellal could live with them being upset for various reasons.

-.-.-

Mirajane refused to let her switch partners for Home Economics, which made things even more difficult. Jellal was not doing well with baking. Erza almost felt bad, seeing him get so frustrated, but she wasn't about to help him out. She had easily finished all of her required items and he had shoddily finished one of his. Class ended before he got very far with the second.

When they got to homeroom, Gildarts took one look at Jellal's bruised cheek and sighed. He pulled Jellal into his office and Erza wondered how Jellal was going to explain the injury. The bell rang as the guidance counselor's door opened. Jellal looked as desolate as ever, but Gildarts patted him on the back and sent him out. Erza walked right past, headed for fencing club, and heard Natsu and Gray speaking to Jellal.

"Time for karate club, Myst," Natsu growled.

"You had better show up," Gray said icily.

"Right," Jellal sighed. "I'll be there."

Erza forced herself to keep walking. They weren't going to _kill_ him. She scolded herself for caring what they did to him. Still, she hoped they didn't mess him up too badly. She, foolishly, looked back to see Jellal watching her.

"Erza," a girl's voice said, catching her attention. She looked around to see a shadow in a nearby classroom. "Come in here. I need to talk to you."

Erza cautiously approached. The girl reached out and pulled her inside before she could protest. She closed and locked the door behind them, which worried Erza. Worry faded to be replaced with jealous anger when she saw who the girl was. Ultear Milkovich smiled apologetically at her.

"What do you want?" Erza spat.

"I know you're upset with me," the dark-haired girl said. "But, honestly, you're upset for all the wrong reasons." Erza was confused. "First things first," Ultear continued. "You may be under the impression that Jellal and I have some sort of 'more than friends' relationship."

"I don't care-"

"Don't lie, just listen," Ultear interrupted. "The only reason he has been at my house is because he thought you were at his house with Siegrain every day. He didn't want to see that."

"I wasn't at his house," Erza said.

"He knows that now," Ultear said. "I've thoroughly explained to him how much of an idiot he is. However, his relationship with me isn't the only thing you've been misinformed about."

"What are you talking about?" Erza asked. Her heart felt ridiculously light, just hearing that Jellal and Ultear weren't together. She tried to remind herself that she shouldn't care. "I don't want to talk about Jellal anymore."

"That's too bad," Ultear said. "Because we're talking about him. And we're, more importantly, talking about how you shouldn't be mad at him and shouldn't let your friends beat the shit out of him in karate club."

"I don't know if you know this-" Erza started.

"It wasn't his fault," Ultear said, cutting Erza off. "It was Siegrain's."

"What was?" Erza asked.

"What you were just about to tell me," Ultear said. "Jellal didn't come up with the plan to extort the student council. He only helped because he was practically forced. Sieg wants to be the head of his father's company and he needs to impress his father by becoming student council president."

"I'm confused," Erza said slowly. "Simon said-"

"Simon was wrong," Ultear said. "Everyone is wrong, and Sieg and Jellal are lying to make sure everyone remains ignorant."

"But, why wouldn't Jellal tell me?" she asked.

"Because he thinks he's just as bad for helping it happen. On top of that, he believes that you want to be with Siegrain, and he doesn't think he has any right to ruin that," Ultear sighed. "He saw you two when Siegrain tried to kiss you."

Erza felt her face heat up. "B-but, that was-"

"I know," Ultear said. She made a face. "But Sieg still wants to be with you, and Jellal doesn't want to go against him. Besides, he still feels bad for never talking to you after you moved away. But that wasn't his fault either-"

"If he felt bad, why didn't he just talk to me then?" Erza asked, crossing her arms. The absence of Jellal and her other friends from Tower Middle School had always been a sore subject for her. She didn't feel like talking about it with Ultear. "Then he would have nothing to feel guilty about."

"As I was saying," Ultear continued. "It wasn't entirely his fault."

"How?" Erza inquired skeptically.

Ultear looked down, seeming a bit ashamed.

"It was _my_ fault," she admitted. " _I_ told him not to send you any sort of correspondence. I managed to convince him that it was better for everyone if you went away."

Erza took a few steps back, dropping her arms to her sides. "Why?" she breathed. "Why would you do that?"

Ultear sighed. "I was a foolish, jealous, cruel girl," she said. "I realized, much later, how horrible I had been. Only _very_ recently have I realized that I still have problems being a decent person. I helped Sieg too- No, I _coerced_ him into using threats to keep the student council in check. But, I'm getting better now." She looked at Erza hopefully. "I'm helping Jellal instead of making life difficult for him."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Erza asked.

"Because," Ultear said with a small smile, "you need to know the truth. Jellal would never have told you himself. He's too..."

"Self-sacrificing?" Erza suggested. Ultear nodded. "I guess he does that a lot. He's always covering for people to keep them from getting in trouble. He's doing it for Myst. And, apparently, also for Siegrain." She thought back to when they were children. "He's covered for me and the others when we were younger."

"Exactly," Ultear said. "I'm not saying that he's never done anything wrong, because he's messed up his share of times. He did help Sieg with the whole student council thing. But he wants to do better. And what he _really_ wants is for you to be happy. He told me so himself."

Erza felt herself blush. "He's so..."

"Jellal?" Ultear suggested.

Erza shrugged and gave a short laugh. "I guess there's not a better word to describe him."

"I have to get to my student council meeting now," Ultear said, looking at her watch. "You go make things right with Jellal before he kills himself via Natsu and Gray's fists."


	20. Twenty - Jellal Fernandes

**Twenty - Jellal Fernandes**

Jellal was on the floor again and wondered if it was even worth getting back to his feet. It was hard to tell if his ribs were just bruised, or if Natsu had actually broken one of them. Either way, he was in a considerable amount of pain, and it had been less than five minutes. He didn't bother fighting back; he deserved what he got. Natsu moved toward him and he braced himself for more injury, but was saved by the opening of the door.

"Natsu, stop!" a familiar, beautiful voice commanded.

"Erza?" Jellal groaned.

"Don't talk to her!" Natsu growled, kicking him in the side and causing him to wince in pain. At least one rib was definitely broken.

"I said stop," Erza reprimanded, stomping over and pulling Natsu away. Gray glared down at Jellal, but she snapped at him too. "Get away from him, Gray," she said. "You two are going to leave him alone."

"Like hell!" Gray protested.

"You're supposed to be fencing," Natsu grumbled.

"Erza," Jellal said again, but she was too busy scolding her friends. _Why is she here?_ he wondered. _Why did she stop them? At gym class it made sense. Fighting is at least_ sort of _against the rules. But this is karate club. They won't get in trouble for this._

"You don't understand anything that's going on," Erza said.

"We understand that he did something to make you cry," Gray countered.

Jellal wished he had been kicked again instead of being reminded of that. He didn't want Erza to cry at all, much less because of him and his complete idiocy. He sat up carefully and looked up at the redhead, who was glaring at Natsu and Gray rather than at him. Jellal waited for her to turn her anger on him. He was the one who deserved it.

"I don't care," Erza said. Jellal was confused. Had he missed something? "What happened in the past will stay there."

"Erza-"

"Quiet, Jellal," she said. He shut his mouth and waited. She didn't even look over at him. She still stared down Natsu and Gray. "You're going to leave him alone."

"I will not!" Natsu exclaimed.

"He knows he did wrong," Gray said. "Otherwise, he'd have fought back."

Erza's eyes flashed with anger. Gray faltered slightly, but Natsu remained stubborn. Jellal wasn't sure exactly how the following fight started, but the three of them practically destroyed the room in the process. Jellal didn't dare interfere; Lucy, however, heard the commotion and ran in to try and pull Natsu and Gray apart. How they had ended up fighting each other was unclear.

"What the _fuck_ is going on in here?!"

Everyone looked over to see a very irritated Laxus standing in the doorway. Jellal didn't know him well, but he knew he was Headmaster Makarov's grandson and that something was going on with him and Mirajane. The four Fairy Tail kids stopped and looked around the room. It was a disaster. Natsu spoke first.

"You wanna fight too, Laxus?" he exclaimed, as everyone else groaned in exasperation.

"You're all suspended," Laxus growled.

"What?!" Lucy cried.

"In fact, you're going to chaperone the middle school field trip tomorrow as your punishment," he added.

"Why that?" Gray asked indignantly.

"Because I don't want to do it," Laxus shrugged. He glanced over at Jellal, who was still sitting on the floor, bruised and bleeding. "You... just take the day off. I dunno what's going on with you lately, Myst, but you obviously need time to sort yourself out."

"Uhh, right," Jellal said.

Laxus turned back to the rest of them. "Now, get the fuck out."

He spun on his heel and walked out, leaving everyone slightly stunned. Erza recovered first. She walked over to Jellal and held out her hand to him. He stared up at her in surprise as she gave him a small smile. Hesitantly, he accepted her hand and she helped him get to his feet.

"We'll talk later," she assured him. "You should go home and clean up. I need to help put this room back together."

"Erza..." he said, trying to think of what to say.

"We'll talk later," she repeated.

Jellal nodded slowly and left the room, confused, but happy that Erza seemed to loathe him less. He tried not to bleed all over the floor when he got home. It would be good that he didn't have school the next day. He was about as injured as many of the Fairy Tail kids had been. He would have to think of somewhere quiet to spend the day.


	21. Twenty-One - Lucy Heartfilia

**Twenty-One - Lucy Heartfilia**

Lucy could not believe that she was being punished. She had been trying to _stop_ the destruction. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, though. They were chaperoning the Fairy Hills Middle School field trip, which meant they got to visit the Nirvana Planetarium. It might actually be a fun, relaxing day.

It started out well enough. There were actually only three middle schoolers on the trip. That made four chaperones seem ridiculous, but no one wanted to complain and risk worse punishment. Lucy recognized Happy, the blue-haired kid that had helped rescue her from Phantom Lord. There were also two girls on the trip.

"I'm Wendy Marvell," the dark blue-haired girl greeted. "And this is Carla, my best friend." The white-haired girl waved as everyone introduced themselves. "Is this a fun place?" Wendy asked.

"It's amazing," Erza told her. "You'll see when we go in."

"This won't be the same as your last time here, Scarlet," a voice said from behind them. They all turned to see a boy with dark red hair and a shirt featuring a purple snake. Lucy recognized him from Era, but couldn't recall his name. "Unless you want to pay one hundred dollars a ticket again."

Everyone looked to Erza in surprise.

" _One hundred_?" she repeated incredulously. "That's ridiculous."

"What? He didn't tell you?" the boy laughed.

"This place can't be worth that much," Natsu said under his breath.

"What was that?" the boy asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Don't insult our planetarium," a girl Lucy recognized as Angel said, showing up at the boy's side. "Are you just going to let them talk like that, Cobra?"

"Of course not!" he said.

"Shut up, I'm trying to sleep." Lucy recognized Midnight, reclining in a desk chair behind the ticket counter.

"Oi! Midnight!" Cobra called. "You can't just let them-"

"I do what I want," Midnight insisted.

"This isn't over," Cobra said, glaring at Natsu.

"Let's just go to the show," Erza said, leading the way in.

"Hey, look who's here!" another voice said before they could enter the theater.

"Lyon?" Gray said. "What are you doing here?"

"College credit," Lyon shrugged.

"You didn't want to go with your girlfriend?" Gray asked.

"Meredy has school today," Lyon shrugged. Lucy vaguely recognized the other people with him. Lyon and two others went to Lamia Scale University, while the four guys behind them went to the College of Blue Pegasus. "Why are you here?" Lyon asked them.

"Punishment," Natsu said. "We destroyed the dojo."

"Why am I not surprised?" Hibiki of Blue Pegasus sighed.

"Hey, we're not _that_ bad," Gray protested.

"Natsu is literally setting the curtain on fire as we speak," Sherry, the Lamia girl with hot-pink hair, pointed out.

Everyone looked over to see Natsu absently flicking his lighter on and off. When he noticed the flames crawling up the curtain on the wall next to him, he panicked and dropped the lighter. Unfortunately, it was still lit. He hurriedly stomped it out and Gray helped him put out the curtains. The fire went out, but the damage was done.

"What _the fuck_ is going on here?" a furious-looking Cobra asked.

"Uhh," Natsu said.

"That's it. I'm done with this." Cobra looked over his shoulder and called, "Angel, get back over here! Midnight, Racer, Hoteye, Brain! We have problem guests!"

Lucy tensed up as six very angry employees approached them.

"Oh, shit," Natsu muttered.

"Didn't we get sent here for fighting in the first place?" Lucy mumbled helplessly.

She tried her best to help with the battle that ensued. Fairy Tail sure could fight, even when still injured from their last battle. The college students joined the fray to help them out. However, the planetarium employees were tough, even with so many people against them. It was hard to tell who was going to win.

"What is going on?" a voice asked, sounding distressed and incredulous at the same time. Everyone paused for a moment to look towards the doorway and see a familiar, blue-haired, fairly battered, hoodie-clad guy, looking distraught. "Why is this happening?"


	22. Twenty-Two - Erza Scarlet

**Twenty-Two - Erza Scarlet**

Erza shouldn't have been surprised to see Jellal at the planetarium. She just hadn't been expecting him to show up in the middle of a fight between her foster siblings and the employees of his favorite place. He looked around the lobby at the broken furniture and holes burnt in everything. Erza could tell he was having trouble processing what he saw. Before she could even attempt an explanation, Midnight spoke up.

"Hey, Jellal is here!" he said. "Come help us fight these losers."

Jellal blinked slowly. Then he glanced at Natsu, Gray, and Lucy, apprehensively. He looked back to the employees and stared at them for a moment. Then, he shook his head slightly. He covered his face with his hands, obviously unsure of what to do next.

"Ha! As if!" Natsu shouted. "I don't know who you think you're talking to, but that's Myst! And he won't fight against us."

"Myst?" Cobra repeated. "Are you retarded? That's Jellal. He's at the fucking _planetarium_."

"No, that's definitely Myst," Natsu said. "I gave him that bruise on his face myself."

"And broke my rib, by the way," Jellal mumbled.

"Wow, what did you do to deserve that?" asked Hoteye, the tall guy that seemed less inclined to fighting than the rest of the employees.

"It's a long story," Jellal said. "But, I'm still going to side with them. You can't hurt Fairy Tail."

"Fairy Tail?" Angel repeated.

"Yes, they're... my friends, I guess," he shrugged, wincing at the pain the action caused him.

"But, they beat the shit out of you," Racer pointed out.

Jellal nodded. "I'm not going to pretend to know where I stand with them," he said. "But I won't let anyone hurt them."

With that, he went to stand with Fairy Tail. Erza couldn't help but notice that he placed himself directly in front of her.

"Oh, you son of a bitch," Midnight grumbled. "You brought this on yourself."

Before Erza could move forward to stop him, Midnight had punched Jellal, right in his broken rib. Jellal doubled over in pain as she ran to help him.

"Jel- Mys-" she paused, not sure what to refer to him as. "Are you okay?" she finally asked.

"Ow," he groaned. "Heh, I don't even need the planetarium to see stars. They're everywhere..."

"Hey, stay conscious!" she reprimanded as he collapsed onto the ground. She turned to glare at Midnight. "What is your problem?" she asked.

"Your boyfriend pissed me off," he said. Erza's face flushed, partially flustered, but mostly angry. "He can't just turn on us like that."

"He- he's not my- You can't expect him to side with you!" she said. " _You_ attacked _us_."

"You set our planetarium on _fire_!"

"It was an _accident_!" Natsu shouted. "Mostly!"

Again, fighting broke out. By that point, all customers had fled the building. Things were smashed to pieces. Other things were on fire. It was a disaster area and it was only getting worse.

For one thing, the fire was spreading. The available fighting room in the building was quickly diminishing as the flames took up more space. Eventually, they were forced to move outside. Erza paused her fight with Midnight to help Jellal. She made a mental note to get him to the hospital or to Porlyusica as soon as possible.

When Jellal was safely out of the building, Erza returned to her fight with Midnight. He was a tough opponent, and he used a lot of dirty tricks, but she eventually got the upper hand. All of her friends seemed to have found similar success.

Jellal had even managed to help Natsu against Brain, who seemed like he was going to win at first. After that, Natsu stopped glaring at Jellal like he would like to set him on fire. After the battle was over, Jellal was sitting on a partially destroyed bench, trying to recover some energy. He seemed upset and confused by the whole situation. Wendy appeared to be trying to comfort him and he seemed confused about that.

Ichiya, one of the Blue Pegasus students, was trying to get Erza's attention, as he usually did when he saw her, but she shrugged him off. She couldn't hear what Wendy was saying to Jellal, so she moved closer. The planetarium employees were in no condition to do any more fighting anyway. Erza was interested in why Wendy, who had seemed fairly shy, was so readily interacting with a complete stranger. Erza neared Jellal and Wendy and heard the girl chatting away happily.

"I just moved here myself," Wendy was saying. "But you already know that."

"I do?" Jellal asked.

"Yes, remember, I told you in my last letter that I was moving here?"

"Uhh," he said slowly. "I'm- I don't-"

"Did you write letters to Myst?" Erza asked, coming to stand beside the two.

Wendy nodded and smiled at Jellal.

"Right," he said. "Pen pals."

"You do remember!" Wendy exclaimed in relief.

Jellal looked genuinely distressed that the girl was so excited.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm just a bit out of it right now."

"That's okay," she said. "I'm just glad I get to meet you in person finally. Your letters have made my life so much better."

Jellal nodded slowly. "I- I'm glad I could help," he said.

"Can I borrow Myst for a moment?" Erza asked Wendy.

"Of course," the girl smiled. "See you later!"

"I'm sorry," Jellal said, once they were alone. "For-"

"Stop," Erza said. "Ultear told me everything."

"What?" he asked eyes widening.

"I know everything," Erza reiterated. "Even from when we were in middle school."

Jellal stared at his feet. "That was my fault too, not just hers," he said. "I was upset that you left. It was stupid. It wasn't your fault and I had no right to be upset."

"Even so," she said. "I- I'm with you now."

"What?" Jellal looked at her in surprise. "You don't hate me?"

"I could never," she told him with a small smile. "No matter what you do, I can't bring myself to. I'm _with_ you," she repeated. His expression shifted from mere surprise to incredulity. She figured it was about time to tell him exactly how she felt. She took a deep breath. "Jellal, I-"

She was cut off by a loud exclamation from Ichiya. She was about to get angry at him for interrupting her confession, but then she saw what he was shouting about. The police had showed up. The planetarium had collapsed and firefighters were arriving to put out the flames that overtook it. The police officers were glaring at the planetarium employees.

"Are you sure?" one of the officers asked another.

"Of course," the other snapped. "These are those same gang members."

"Gang members?" Natsu mumbled. "No wonder they were so hard to fight."

"We beat them," Gray pointed out. "What does that make us?"

Natsu grinned. "Awesome," he answered.

The employees - or gang members - were being handcuffed and shoved into the back of a police van. It looked like everyone was else was going to be free to go. The officers barely gave them a second glance, obviously assuming they had nothing to do with the destruction. Suddenly, however, the officer that had identified the members of the Oracion Seis - which turned out to be the name of the gang - looked toward Jellal and Erza. His expression hardened and he began to walk over.

"Hold on," the man told the other officers. "We've got one more."

"What?" Erza asked. "Who?"

"Me," Jellal mumbled.

She turned around and looked at him in confusion. "Don't be silly-"

"Fernandes," the officer spat. "What are you doing here?"

"He's visiting the planetarium," Gray said. "What do you think?"

"Gray, don't-" Jellal started.

"He didn't do anything," Natsu interrupted. "He was trying to help _stop_ these guys!"

"Are you arguing with me?" the officer asked angrily.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Gray asked.

"Officer Lahar," Jellal said. "He's the on-duty officer for Era Academy."

Erza was worried by Jellal's resigned tone of voice.

"Don't try to resist," Lahar said, glaring at Jellal.

"What do you want with him?" Erza asked, stepping forward.

"Erza, please," Jellal said so quietly that only she could hear. "You won't get anywhere with him. He _hates_ me. All he wants right now is to take me in. He'll arrest all of you if you try to stop him."

"But-" she started.

"Get out of the way," Lahar said, stepping past Erza to get to Jellal.

Erza's heart started beating faster as Jellal just went along with the police officer. Why wouldn't he fight back? He didn't deserve to go to jail. She was on the verge of fighting the officer herself, when Natsu beat her to it. He jumped forward and grabbed Lahar by the arm.

"Hey! Stop!" Natsu shouted. "You can't take him!"

Lahar shrugged him off and continued, but then the others began to join in.

"He's with us, not them!" Gray said.

"You have no reason to arrest him!" Lucy chimed in.

"What about Erza?" Natsu asked. "He's supposed to be with her!"

"You can't do this!" Wendy exclaimed.

As the protests went on, they got louder and, quickly, more physical. Even the Lamia and Blue Pegasus students were beginning to join in. Erza was afraid that her friends were about to get into a very real fight with some very real law enforcement officers. She wasn't sure what to do. She didn't want Jellal to be taken away; who knew what Lahar had planned for him?

Lahar was visibly angry and shouted for all of them to be put under arrest. Her friends continued to fight and she was struggling with deciding what to do. She was on the brink of snapping and joining her friends, when she saw Jellal's worried expression. She sighed, realizing that Jellal was doing what he always did. He was going quietly so that no one else would have to.

"Enough!" she shouted. "Natsu! Gray! Lucy! Everyone! Stop!" All of her friends stopped fighting to look at her. "There- there isn't anything we can do."

"Are you kidding me?!" Natsu asked. "You're just going to let them take him away from you?!"

Erza looked down, willing herself not to cry. "Yes," she said.

"Good decision," Lahar said, straightening his uniform before putting handcuffs on Jellal. "You don't want everyone here to end up in jail tonight." He led Jellal to the van and glared at him. He spoke quietly, but Erza could still hear. "Extortion, arson, evading arrest," he said. "You're going away for a very long time. You know, some people _die_ in prison, and you're seeming pretty injured already. You'll never see your friends again, if I can help it."

Jellal's eyes went wide and he looked back at Erza. His expression softened slightly, probably due to the distressed look on her face. Before either of them could say anything else, Lahar shoved Jellal into the back and slammed the door behind him. The van drove away, and Erza felt worse every inch it got further from her.


	23. Twenty-Three - Lucy Heartfilia

**Author's Note:**

Thank you for the comments on this story! Except for that one on chapter Twenty. I didn't want to do a bunch of author's notes, since I think the story is more seamless without them. However, this comment upset me. You come into _my_ house?! And disrespect _my_ Nalu?! Even aside from the tactlessness of the comment, I've already written most of the story and am not planning on changing it. Also, enjoy this chapter. It's from the point of view of Lucy, who is awesome, so fuck you.

But about the other comments, thanks for your support!

-.-.-

 **Twenty-Three - Lucy Heartfilia**

Lucy was actually a little glad for being suspended. It was only for a few days, but it gave her time to fully recover from her injuries. Who knew she would end up getting into so many fights? She sighed and sprawled out on her bed at the foster home. It had been a short time, but Fairy Tail was already her family, and it was worth a few scars and bruises.

She thought of her father, still. She had gone back to speak with him after the fiasco with Phantom Lord. There had been a misunderstanding, however. He had assumed she was there to apologize to him, but he was sorely mistaken. That hadn't been the best confrontation, but it had been better than leaving without saying a word.

"Hey, Luce," Natsu said, flopping down on the bed next to her.

She sat up in a hurry and yelped in surprise. "Hey!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"Laying down?" he suggested.

"On _my_ bed?" she asked.

"There's not another bed in here," he shrugged.

"Oh look, you can shrug without pain now," she pointed out.

"Yeah," he grinned. "I'm almost fully recovered!"

"Your arm is in a sling and your forehead is still bandaged," she disagreed.

"I've had worse," he said, sitting up. "How are your injuries?"

"Much better," she said. "I never thought I'd be the one to get into fights."

"Eh, that's what this place is like," Gray said from the doorway.

"Please put some clothes on," Lucy muttered.

"Does Gray-sama always remove his clothes like this?" a voice asked breathily from behind him.

"Gray- _sama_?" Natsu repeated.

Gray turned to reveal the blue-haired Phantom Lord girl, Juvia.

"Hey! That's that girl from Phantom!" Lucy said.

"Love rival!" Juvia exclaimed, glaring at Lucy.

"What?" Lucy asked, entirely confused.

Juvia entered the room and got right up close to Lucy's face. Natsu went to interfere, but Gray called him off.

"She's harmless, Natsu," he said.

"She helped kidnap Lucy!" Natsu argued.

"I will not allow you to take away my Gray-sama," Juvia growled at Lucy.

"I don't want him," Lucy assured her.

"She's... weird," Gray said. "But she won't hurt anyone anymore. Headmaster Makarov already had a long talk with her. She's going to live here now."

"Here, at Fairy Tail?" Natsu asked.

Juvia finally turned her angry gaze away from Lucy and smiled brightly at Gray. "I'll be here with Gray-sama!" she said excitedly.

"You can lay off the '-sama'," Gray grumbled. Juvia just flounced over to him and grasped his arm in a tight hug. "Please, let go," he said, trying to pull away.

"She seems so different from before," Lucy said.

"Why did she call you her love rival?" Natsu asked.

"I have no clue," Lucy shrugged as Mirajane entered the room. "But if Headmaster Makarov thinks she's alright, she probably is, right?"

"Yeah," Natsu said, looking out the door as Gray managed to extract himself from Juvia's grasp.

She started chasing him across the house as Mira sat down and watched through the door with Natsu and Lucy.

"Gray was the one who fought her," Mira said. "He brought her to the hospital after he won. I think, after that, she's been following him like a puppy dog. She was even there with you at the planetarium."

"She was?" Lucy asked. "I didn't see her."

"She was hiding," Mira shrugged. "But she recognized that gang you fought and called the police to come get them."

"That was nice of her," Natsu said. "That explains why they assumed it was those guys that destroyed the planetarium. Though, it might have been better if they didn't show up. That Lahar guy is a real dick."

"How is Erza doing?" Lucy asked, not recalling seeing her recently.

"She's been locked in her room," Mira sighed. "Officer Lahar wouldn't let her visit Myst. They won't let her bail him out either."

"Why?" Natsu demanded. "He didn't do anything!"

Mira shrugged sadly. "I don't know," she said. "But Erza is very upset about it."

"She'd better cheer up quick," Cana said from the doorway. "We have our trip coming up."

"What trip?" Lucy asked.

"The same place we go every year," Natsu answered.

"She wasn't here last year, flame brain," Gray said. He was standing next to Cana and Juvia was hanging on his arm again. He seemed to have accepted it. "Every year, some of us fly out to Tenrou to visit Headmaster Makarov's hometown."

"Wow, that's cool!" Lucy said.

"Do you want to go?" Cana asked.

"Sure!" Lucy said. "But, what about school?"

"School practically takes a vacation," Mira explained. "Several teachers and many students will be gone for the week."

"The few people there have substitute teachers and do small assignments," Gray said. "There are still some kids there because they don't stay at Fairy Tail, they just go to the school."

"Plus, some people here don't want to go every year," Mira said. "It's fun though. You should definitely come with us."

"Of course!" Lucy exclaimed. "This will be great!"

The conversation was cut off when they heard a commotion coming from the main room. They all got up and ran out to see what was happening. Lucy, Natsu, and Gray pushed to the front of the gathered group to see Wendy sitting on the floor in front of the door, crying.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked.

"Why are you here?" Natsu asked.

"You all w- were so n- nice the oth- other day," she sobbed. "And I- I- I didn't kno- know where else t- to go."

"Why?" Gray asked. "Where are your parents?"

Her sobbing escalated to weeping as she collapsed on the floor. Lucy was trying to figure out what to do, when Erza appeared and knelt beside the little girl. She placed a hand on her back comfortingly. Wendy turned and threw her arms around Erza, crying into her shoulder.

"Her family got into a car accident," someone murmured.

"Oh no," Lucy breathed. "That's terrible."

"It's always sad to lose those that you love," Erza said quietly. "But you're not alone. You have us. Come live at Fairy Tail." Erza smiled slightly, but there was sadness behind it. She helped Wendy to her feet and turned to everyone else. "This is Wendy Marvell," she announced. "She's one of us now."

Wendy was still crying, but she gave a watery smile. Lucy went forward to give Wendy a hug, and was soon joined by Natsu, Gray, and then everyone else. By the end of a few more moments, everyone, even Wendy and Erza, was smiling and laughing. Makarov showed up, remarking on how many people were coming to Fairy Tail.

"I guess three in one semester is a lot," Gray said.

"Four," Juvia said.

"Lucy, Juvia, Wendy," Natsu said, counting on his fingers. "That's three."

"We have one more," Makarov said. He gestured behind him, through the door. Everyone looked on in confusion as a tall, black-haired man with far too many piercings entered the room. Everyone was in shock as Makarov went on. "This is Gajeel Redfox, as most of you know," he said. "He's going to live here now as well."

"What?!" Lucy asked, incredulous.

"No," Gray said instantly.

"No fucking way," Natsu growled in agreement.

"You brats don't have a say," Makarov snapped.

"Juvia was one thing," Gray said, ignoring the fact that the girl in question was still clinging to his arm. "But this guy tore apart our home, beat up Levy, Jet, and Droy, and kidnapped Lucy."

"Juvia helped kidnap," Juvia piped up. "Juvia is sorry. Juvia brought Gajeel-kun because he needs positive influence."

"He beat the shit out of me!" Natsu exclaimed, glaring at Gajeel.

Gajeel glared right back. "I didn't ask to be here, pyro bastard."

"That's enough," Makarov said. "Gajeel is part of Fairy Tail now and you will all have to accept that." There was grumbling all around, but no one could argue with Headmaster Makarov. "Now, he won't be staying in the house," the old man went on. "As you all know, we are rapidly running out of room. Gajeel will be living next door with Pantherlily."

"Whatever," Gajeel said. With that, he spun around and left, presumably for the smaller house next door.

"I don't know why Lily even pulled him out of that fire in the first place," Natsu grumbled, crossing his arms.

"He told me that Gajeel just needs help," Lucy recalled. "Like Juvia said, he needs positivity."

"But still, I don't like him living so close," Gray muttered.

"Gajeel-kun is not so bad when you get to know him," Juvia stated.

"Guys, it'll be okay," Levy chimed in with a nervous smile. " _I'm_ okay with it."

"Levy-" Lucy started.

"No," Levy interrupted. "He needs help, remember? Who better to help than Fairy Tail? We help everyone."

Natsu just huffed and trudged off to his room. The group slowly dispersed. Lucy followed Erza and Mira as they showed Wendy to her room. Suddenly, she recalled that Wendy's best friend was the little girl that also lived next door. Wasn't Carla Pantherlily's daughter?

"Wendy, why did you choose us?" Lucy asked. "Carla lives right next door."

"I didn't want to bother her," Wendy said quietly.

"Don't be ridiculous!" a small voice said from behind them. They all turned to see the little, white-haired girl they had just been speaking of. She had obviously just been running, trying to find them. "Wendy, you can always count on me." Wendy's eyes started to tear up again as she ran forward and hugged her friend tightly. "There, there," Carla said, patting Wendy on the back.

"It seems like their house is becoming practically a part of Fairy Tail anyway," Mirajane smiled. "Now you'll be like foster sisters!"

Everyone laughed happily and Lucy was glad that everyone could still smile through all that was going on. Fairy Tail really was a wonderful place.


	24. Twenty-Four - Juvia Lockser

**Twenty-Four - Juvia Lockser**

Juvia was a bit nervous when she started going to Fairy Hills High School. She had managed to align her schedule up perfectly with Gray's, but that didn't matter when he was still suspended. The guidance counselor had told her to join a club of some sort, but she wasn't very interested in any of the ones that existed. During the lunch hour, one day, she decided to wander around outside the school. That was how she came across the swimming pool.

-.-.-

"Juvia would like to create a swim team," she told Gildarts excitedly.

"There are a few problems with that idea," he said. "First off, there's no place to swim."

"There's a pool behind the school," Juvia insisted. "It's old and unusable at the moment, but Juvia will clean it."

"How did I not know that we had a pool?" Gildarts grumbled to himself. He looked back to Juvia. "Anyway," he said. "Even if you did manage to get it in working order, there are other conditions."

"Juvia will meet all the conditions!" she announced.

"First, you have to have at least three members," he said. "That's the general rule for any club or team."

Juvia tilted her head to the side. "But fencing-"

"Erza is a special case," Gildarts sighed. "Besides, fencing club isn't official. I don't even know what she does there."

"Well, Juvia will find two people!" Juvia said. "And then she will swim!"

"Hold up," Gildarts said. "There's one more condition. And this will be a tough one." Juvia waited for him to continue with bated breath. "You need a faculty advisor."

"What does that mean?" she asked.

"It means that a teacher or someone that works for the school has to agree to oversee your club meetings and supervise you," he explained. "But, I'll warn you now, all of the staff members that have any interest in that sort of thing already belong to other clubs."

"Juvia will convince someone!" she said firmly. "Thank you, Gildarts-san!"

-.-.-

Even with all her enthusiasm, it was hard to complete the tasks set before her. She was managing to get the pool cleaned, bit by bit, working on it each day. However, she had yet to find a single person willing to join her in creating a swim team. Most people were all members of other clubs already. The ones that weren't, were simply uninterested in extracurricular activities.

"Gray-sama!" she begged at lunchtime. "Please join Juvia on the swim team. We can play in the water together!"

"I'll pass," Gray said. Juvia wasn't ready to give up, but he didn't give in. "I'm in karate club already anyway," he said. "With Myst gone, we are still trying to find someone to be our third club member. I don't have time to help you find people for your team."

"If Juvia finds someone for karate club, Gray-sama will help Juvia?" she asked.

"Sure, why not?" he said. "We'll even clean the pool for you."

"Wait, what?" Natsu asked.

"Don't worry, flame-brain," Gray said. "No one wants to join our club anyway. There are rumors that Myst is gone because we beat the shit out of him, so no one wants anything to do with karate club."

"That's not entirely false," Lucy pointed out. "The only reason anyone was at the planetarium that day is because you were attacking Myst in karate club."

Juvia was watching Lucy with narrowed eyes as she spoke to Gray. Fortunately for the blonde, Natsu pulled her away for some reason. Juvia was pleased to see that Gray didn't watch Lucy leave. Instead, he looked over towards Erza. Juvia didn't have any jealousy towards the redhead, however; it was obvious that she had feelings for the blue-haired criminal boy and not for Gray.

Juvia felt bad for Erza because she couldn't be with the one she loved. She didn't know the girl well, but she could tell that she was trying to act happy for her friends. Juvia hoped that Erza could be with her beloved one day. She couldn't imagine being separated from Gray once she had met him. She was glad that he was willing, however begrudging he seemed, to let her hang around him.

"The Fairy Tail trip will be soon," Erza was saying. "I think we're just waiting on Lisanna to return before we leave."

"Who is that?" Juvia asked.

"Lisanna is Mirajane and Coach Elfman's little sister," Gray answered. "You'll meet her soon. And you're going on the trip with us, right?"

Juvia's eyes widened. "Is Gray-sama asking Juvia to go on a trip with him?" she asked, starry-eyed.

"I- no," Gray said, looking mildly embarrassed. "I was only wondering if you were going. It's not like it will be just the two of us."

"You should go, Juvia," Erza said. "It will help you get to know some of us better."

"Juvia will go!" Juvia said excitedly.

"Where are you going?" Gajeel's voice asked.

Everyone turned to look at him as he approached with his food tray. Juvia smiled, but Gray glared.

"Fairy Tail is going on a trip to Tenrou," she told her friend. "You should go too!"

"I don't know about that," Gray grumbled.

"I've already invited him," Levy said quietly.

"What?" Erza asked in surprise. "Why?"

Levy blushed slightly. "Pantherlily convinced me to tutor Gajeel, and I figured we could start in a more relaxing place than at school."

"I can't believe Pantherlily would make you do that!" Gray exclaimed.

"You got a problem with it?" Gajeel asked.

"What if I do?" Gray said, standing up.

"Gray, keep your shirt on," Erza scowled. "Literally and figuratively. It's Levy's choice if she decides to tutor him. And it's not up to you whether he goes to Tenrou."

"Who?" Natsu asked as he and Lucy came back into the cafeteria.

"Where were you?" Juvia heard Levy ask Lucy.

"Gajeel," Erza answered Natsu.

"Aw, hell no," Natsu complained.

"Natsu needed me to help him put out a fire he started in the dojo," Lucy mumbled to Levy as the boys seemed ready to fight each other.

"He's always starting _something_ ," Levy shrugged.

Erza stood in between all three boys as they glared at each other; Juvia was impressed by her control of the situation. Everyone eventually backed down and ate their food without attacking each other. Juvia had shop the next period with Gray and Gajeel. She had only taken the class to be near Gray, but was regretting it when she had to stand between the two boys as they glared at each other through the entire class. She was relieved when her day finally ended.

When she arrived back at the foster home after cleaning a bit more of the pool, everyone had gathered outside. Someone had arrived, according to the luggage and everyone's excitement. The new arrival was a girl with short, white hair and blue eyes. She looked much like Mirajane and Coach Elfman, so Juvia had no doubt that it was Lisanna Strauss. Juvia wanted to be helpful, so she joined some of the other girls in helping Lisanna unpack.

She was a nice girl and seemed to get along well with everyone. Juvia hoped that she could be that way with all her new foster siblings as well. As she helped put clothes away in Lisanna and Mirajane's room, she unpacked a swimsuit. It wasn't a regular, fashionable swimsuit, but one that someone who swims laps often might wear. Juvia wondered if Lisanna had been on the swim team at the exchange school she had been going to.

"Lisanna-chan," she said. "Do you like to swim?"

"It's fun," Lisanna shrugged. "Why?"

"Juvia needs more members to join the swim team here before she can start it," Juvia explained.

"You want me to join?" Lisanna asked. "Sure! Why not?"

"Wonderful!" Juvia exclaimed. "Now Juvia must find one more!"

"What about Aquarius?" Lucy asked.

"What did you say, love rival?" Juvia asked.

"Please stop calling me that," Lucy grumbled. "Especially when I'm trying to help you."

"I think Aquarius is in Star Club," Erza said.

"But she goes to the city aquatic center all the time," Lucy said. "So she may be willing to switch clubs."

"It's worth a shot," Lisanna shrugged. "We can ask her tomorrow."

-.-.-

Juvia was ecstatic. The swim team was coming together well. Assuming that Aquarius would join the team, all that was left was to finish cleaning the pool and to find a faculty advisor. The pool was turning out to be a difficult job, even after Lisanna started helping out. Juvia recalled Gray's promise to help if she found a new karate club member, so she decided to do just that.

-.-.-

"No chance," Gajeel said.

"But, Gajeel-kun-"

"I don't wanna do anything with those bastards," he said gruffly.

"You'll get to fight them, though," Juvia insisted. "And you won't have to hold back. _They_ won't. Gray-sama and Natsu-san didn't hold back with the last member."

"Why do you want me to join?" Gajeel asked.

"Gray-sama and Natsu-kun will clean the pool if Juvia finds them a new member," she said.

Gajeel's face twisted into a sadistic smile. "Gihihi," he laughed. "Alright," he said. "I'll do it."

-.-.-

Two days later, the pool was clean and the swim team was nearly official. Aquarius had joined up and Juvia was actually becoming fast friends with her. They both seemed to have some sort of problem with Lucy, so that strengthened their bond. Though Gray and Natsu were not happy about who their newest member was, they still held up their end of the deal and Juvia was quite pleased. The only thing left was to find a faculty advisor.

"Juvia has asked every teacher," Juvia sighed. "There are none left."

"What about faculty members that aren't teachers?" Aquarius asked. "Are there any of those?"

"Laxus!" Lisanna exclaimed. "I'll bet we can find a way to convince him. I'll get Mira to help us!"


	25. Twenty-Five - Laxus Dreyar

**Twenty-Five - Laxus Dreyar**

Laxus was not in a good mood, not that that was different from normal. Six times already, he had denied the request to be the faculty advisor for the swim team. Those girls were persistent, but he was stubborn. That didn't mean that they weren't getting to him, however. His irritation had been slowly building and he was about ready to snap.

"Hey, Laxus-"

"WHAT?!" he shouted at the intruder in his quiet bedroom. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT?!" He spun around in his desk chair and froze when his eyes fell on the white-haired woman in his doorway that had her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed. "Uh, Mira," he said sheepishly. "Sorry, I-"

"If you're just going to shout at me, I'll leave," she huffed, turning away.

"Wait!" he said, jumping to his feet and grabbing her wrist. "I'm sorry I yelled."

"And?" she said expectantly.

"And I'm sorry I swore," he grumbled.

"Hmm," she said. "You don't seem very sorry."

"Mira," he complained.

"No, it's too late," she said. "I'll just be on my way. I'll have dinner with the girls tonight instead."

"Don't be like that," he said. "I really am sorry."

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes," he said.

"Very sorry?" she continued.

"Yes," he said, more slowly as he noticed a malicious glint in her eye.

"Will you do anything to make it up to me?" she asked, her expression practically evil at that point.

"Mira, please don't," he pleaded.

"There's one way to show me how sorry you are," she said.

"Mira, no," he said.

She shrugged. "I guess I'll be going then."

"Okay, fine," he said. "I'll be their damn-" Her eyes flashed and Laxus backpedalled. "I'll be their faculty advisor."

"Hooray!" she exclaimed, clapping and smiling. "I love you, Laxus!"

"Yeah, whatever," he grumbled. She stuck out her bottom lip at him and he rolled his eyes. "I love you too," he said. She started humming as she skipped away. "I'm not getting in the water!" he called after her. She just laughed and he slammed his door. "Shit," he said. "How did this happen?"

-.-.-

The next afternoon, he begrudgingly made his way to the pool. He hadn't even realized that Fairy Hills _had_ a pool, but apparently the girls had cleaned it up and gotten it ready to use. He stayed far back from the water. His usual interactions with swimming pools always seemed to end badly. Four times he had managed to get himself electrically shocked.

"Laxus, aren't you going to swim?" Lisanna asked from the edge of the water.

He shook his head firmly and frowned.

"Oh, you know Laxus," Mirajane's voice said from over his shoulder. He turned to see her sauntering over in her bikini. "He's just afraid of the water."

"I am not!" he protested, letting his eyes linger on his girlfriend longer than he probably should have. "Why are you here?"

"Breaking in the pool!" she smiled. "You should join me."

She purposefully batted her eyelashes at him and leaned forward adorably. He almost caved in until she began to wander towards the pool.

"I'll pass," he mumbled. "I don't even need to be here, right? You don't need me at meetings, do you?"

"No, I suppose not," Aquarius said. "We'll only need you for things that concern the school."

"Then I'm leaving," he said. "It's just creepy for a guy to sit here and watch a bunch of girls in their swimsuits."

"Aw, Laxus," Mira started.

"You won't convince me," he assured her. "Besides, I have to help the old man with preparations for Tenrou."

"He's nearly done," Mira said.

"Then it shouldn't take long," he said, waving as he walked off. "Have fun swimming. Don't get electrocuted."

-.-.-

Makarov was hanging up the phone when Laxus walked into his office at the foster home. The old man sighed and turned to a stack of papers, speaking to Laxus over his shoulder.

"They changed our flight arrangements at the last moment," he grumbled. "The plane we were scheduled for broke down or something. They moved us to a smaller one." He sighed. "At least there won't be so many other people on board for you brats to annoy."

Laxus chuckled. "That's a good point," he said. "Do we leave at the same time, at least?" he asked.

"Four hours earlier," Makarov groaned.

"Four in the morning?" Laxus complained. "We'd better get our money back."

"They did give us a massive discount, which helped, considering so many people will be going," Makarov said, exiting the office. "Maybe Natsu and the other loud ones will just sleep and we won't have any issues."

"You should have demanded a full refund!" Laxus exclaimed, following him. "You're just gonna let them walk all over you?!"

"Watch your tone, Laxus," Makarov warned quietly as the other foster kids in the vicinity glanced over. "I told you yesterday, you're on thin ice."

"Maybe I'd have a better tone if you'd stop being such a wimp," Laxus growled.

"That is it!" Makarov exclaimed. "You are hereby grounded!"

"Tch," Laxus scoffed. "I'm a grown ass man. You can't ground me."

"Tenrou," Makarov said icily. "You won't be going."

"You already bought the tickets," Laxus reminded him.

"Yours can go to someone else! Uhh..." Makarov said, looking around. He pointed toward Gajeel, who was in the middle of a tutoring session with Levy. "Gajeel will go instead!"

"Eh?" Gajeel grunted. "Where am I going?"

"Pay attention, Gajeel," Levy scolded.

Laxus was fuming as Makarov continued to tell at him. "Now get out of my sight!"

Laxus didn't speak, he simply stormed out the front door and slammed it behind him.


	26. Twenty-Six - Natsu Dragneel

**Twenty-Six - Natsu Dragneel**

Natsu firmly believed that four o'clock in the morning should be made illegal. If the prospect of visiting Tenrou hadn't been so exciting, he may have never gotten out of bed in time. As it was, he was the last one downstairs and ready to go. Erza knocked him on the head for his tardiness, but he was just glad she seemed to be getting back to normal after the planetarium incident. He yawned deeply as Makarov explained the plan.

"Everyone will stay with a partner until everyone is on the plane," he said. "We don't need anyone getting lost. Any little ones need an older partner to make sure they don't get left behind."

Natsu ruffled Happy's hair. "Wanna be my partner, buddy?" he grinned.

"Of course!" Happy said. "Let's beat everyone else there!"

"It's not a race," Gray said, standing with Loke.

Natsu noticed Juvia looking at Loke with displeasure, but she had found a partner in Lisanna. Everyone had partnered up. Gajeel was with Levy and Erza was with Mira. Freed and Bixlow had still decided to go on the trip, despite Laxus' absence, and they had partnered up, while Evergreen was with Elfman. Lucy, meanwhile, had been paired with Cana, who wasn't actually drunk, for once.

That left Wendy with Makarov. Pantherlily and Carla showed up as well. Everyone had a partner and they were ready to go. Then Gildarts turned up at the last minute. Makarov grumbled something about Gildarts being the most likely to get lost without a partner, but they set off anyway.

-.-.-

The airport was hard to traverse with such a large group, even so early in the morning. They nearly missed their flight after they were stuck with a very thorough TSA officer. Natsu didn't pay much attention to the man until he heard him on the phone. He caught the name Lahar and recalled it being the name of the officer that arrested Myst. After that, Natsu decidedly did not trust TSA Officer Doranbolt.

Why was he making it take so long to get to their plane? Was Lahar telling him to to make their lives more difficult again? But they ended up on their flight just fine. Everyone was seated and Makarov went around to be sure everyone had made it. Everything seemed fine, until it became obvious that Gildarts had gone missing.

"That idiot," Makarov grumbled as the seatbelt lights came on. "I guess it's too late now."

-.-.-

It had reached the part of the journey that Natsu despised. He got terrible motion-sickness. He started feeling bad as soon as the plane started down the runway. Happy patted him on the back sympathetically. Once the seatbelt lights turned off, Natsu ran for the bathroom to be violently ill.

"Natsu?" a small voice asked, knocking on the door. "They said you get motion-sickness, but I think I can help." He opened the door to see Wendy holding up a couple of pills. "My parents were pharmacists," she said. "I get motion-sick too sometimes, but Troia helps."

He accepted the pills and quickly swallowed them. It was only a matter of minutes before he could feel the effects. Soon, he was back to his normal self, as if he were on solid ground. He was amazed at the results and was determined to remember those pills in the future. He smiled at Wendy.

"Thanks!" he said. "I feel one-hundred percent again!"

"Not for long," a voice said.

Natsu looked around to see a man with crazy, yellow hair coming through the curtain from first class. He was flicking a lighter open and closed.

"How did you get that on the plane?" Natsu asked. "Mine had to go in the luggage compartment."

"I'm not here to answer your questions," the man said. "I'm here to hijack this airplane!"

It took Natsu a moment to fully register what the man had said. "You what?" he asked. "Why?"

The man shrugged. "I have my reasons."

"Are you working with that officer?" Natsu asked suspiciously. "That's why it took so long!"

"Why the hell would terrorists work with a police officer?" the man cackled. "You're an idiot."

"T-terrorists?" Wendy repeated.

"That's what I said," the man sneered.

"Not- not just one?" she asked. "You used the plural..."

"Ahh, I should have been more careful," the man sighed. "Ah well. I'm sure the others have things under control by now."

"Others?" Natsu inquired. "What others?"

Just then, a voice came over the intercom. "Hello, this is your captain speaking," a cruel voice said, sounding nothing like how Natsu remembered the captain. "Your _new_ captain, that is." There was a bit of laughter before the voice spoke again. "This aircraft is now under the control of the Grimoire Heart group and you'd all do well to sit tight and do as we say!"

"There's not as much of an outbreak as I was hoping for," the yellow-haired man grumbled. "This flight has a bunch of kids. Why aren't they terrified?"

"Most of this flight is Fairy Tail foster kids," Natsu said, glaring. "We've been through a lot already. Don't think we'll take this sitting down."

The man's eyes widened. "Are you planning to fight back?" he asked.

"Damn right!" came Gray's voice, followed by his fist.

The blond man flew backwards, through the first-class curtain. There was a scream back in coach and Wendy and the boys turned toward the sound.

"How dare you!" came the voice of the yellow-haired man as he tore at the curtain.

"I'll take care of him," Natsu told Gray. "Go help the others. Wendy, go find somewhere safe."

"Ah, but I want to help!" she said as Gray ran off.

"Then go find the Headmaster and ask him what we should do," he said. "But get away from here. This guy seems crazy." The man flipped the lighter open and it sparked to life. Natsu grinned. "But don't worry about me. Soon I'll have a new lighter."


	27. Twenty-Seven - Lucy Heartfilia

**Twenty-Seven - Lucy Heartfilia**

Lucy couldn't _believe_ what was happening. So many crazy things had happened recently. She was beginning to get desensitized to all the insanity. But a terrorist attack was a little much. It sounded like a few fights were going on; she heard a lot of yelling in different areas.

No one was left sitting in their seats. Lucy wasn't sure which direction to go. She wanted to be useful, but wasn't sure how. After a short moment of deliberation, she decided to find Natsu. She hoped that Wendy had been able to help him with his motion-sickness, otherwise he would be completely vulnerable.

"Natsu!" she called, trying to locate him. She heard him shouting something about being 'fired up' and hoped that he wasn't going to find some way to start a fire. She began to head towards the sound of his voice, but her path was blocked by a massive, weird-looking man. "Why is this happening to me?" she complained as the man gave her a creepy grin. "Will my life never be normal?"

Just then, screams came from up in first class. Lucy glanced around the big, creepy guy to see that a fire had started. Things were getting worse by the second. The plane was starting to shudder, causing the big man to lose his balance and fall down. Lucy prayed that they would not crash.

Suddenly, a familiar voice came over the intercom. "Welcome to Tenrou Airlines. This is your captain speaking."

"Natsu?" Lucy groaned. "What are you-?"

Before she could finish her rhetorical question, the plane tipped sideways.

"AND THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SHOUTING!" Natsu's voice exclaimed.

"What is that idiot doing?!" Gray shouted from the next aisle over.

"We should go help," Erza said.

"There's enough to deal with back here," Mira said. "These guys are tough."

"Natsu can't fly an aircraft!" Erza protested.

"OH CRAP!" Natsu's voice continued. The intercom was still broadcasting. "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FLY THIS THING!" There was a loud snapping sound. "I hope that wasn't important."

"We're all going to die," Lucy said. "We have to get up there and help him!" The big guy in front of her regained his balance and started towards her. "Ahh, no!" she shrieked. She kicked as hard as she could, but he grabbed her leg, rendering her attack useless.

Fortunately, the plane chose that moment to tip again. The man fell and smacked his head on a chair, knocking him unconscious. Lucy very nearly avoided the same fate as she was flung to the side. She got to her feet carefully, battered from crashing into two others, who turned out to be Elfman and Evergreen. She apologized as another voice could be heard over the intercom.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Laxus?" Natsu's voice asked in surprise. "How are you here?"

"I bought my own ticket," Laxus explained. "Move aside. Let me help."

"I didn't see you on the plane," Natsu remarked.

"I wasn't gonna sit in coach with you losers!" Laxus exclaimed. "Now move before you break anything else important!"

"Where is Makarov?" another unexpected voice asked, this time from right behind Lucy.

"Dad?" Cana asked. "But how-?"

"I somehow got lost and ended up in first class," Gildarts shrugged sheepishly. "I was talking with Laxus. Where is the other Dreyar?"

"Over here!" Lisanna called.

Levy and Lisanna were tending to the injured, which included many Fairy Tail foster kids and Makarov.

"This is not looking good," Gildarts said. "This is Acnologic engine failure! I've seen this before!"

"You've seen this _before_?" Lucy asked incredulously. "I've never even _heard_ of it!"

"There's nothing we can do to stop it," Gildarts went on. "Our only hope left is to pray for a miracle."

The plane was shuddering furiously and the fire was spreading. Lucy, Erza, Gray, and even Gajeel volunteered to make their way to the front and see how they could help. Wendy, Happy, and Carla followed, despite being told to stay put. The group managed to find an extinguisher and put out the fire, but that wasn't much of a worry compared to the increasingly steep descent the plane was making. When they finally reached the cockpit, Natsu and Laxus had managed to stabilize the plane for the most part.

"It's still going down," Laxus said. "But less so. We need to gather everyone and figure out some sort of way to get off this thing."

"At this point, I don't think we're getting off before we reach the ground," Lucy reasoned. "We need to find some way to brace ourselves."

-.-.-

Everyone convened in the middle of the plane, where all the injured lay. Fairy Tail had managed to take care of the terrorists. The ones that were merely unconscious were tied up together. Everyone was afraid. The ground was getting closer and closer, and it wasn't going to be a pretty crash.

The stabilization that Natsu and Laxus had achieved meant that pressure changes weren't a problem. They were too close to the ground for that to matter much anymore anyway. The impact would happen soon and there was no way to stop it. Everyone strapped into any available seat and put on oxygen masks, which had been largely ignored with all the fighting going on. Lucy found herself seated beside Natsu, who seemed to notice how terrified she was.

"We'll be fine," he said, smiling at her through his oxygen mask. She was unconvinced, but she appreciated his attempt. He had become quite a good friend to her. She would be sad to never see him again, but at least she was with him now. "Don't worry, Lucy," he said, grasping her hand in his.

For a split second, she felt the jolt of the plane hitting the ground. Then she felt nothing.


	28. Twenty-Eight - Erza Knightwalker

**Twenty-Eight - Erza Knightwalker**

"Errrzaaaa," _his_ voice called softly. "Time to wake up."

"What do you want?" she asked, opening her eyes and trying to focus through the bleary sleepiness.

"I want you to wake up," he said, matter-of-factly.

"No shit, Mystogan," she retorted as his masked face came into view. " _Why_ do you want me to wake up?"

"If you want to stay here, be my guest," he shrugged. "But, I'm tired. And, judging by your attitude towards me so far, I didn't think you'd be willing to sleep in the same bed as me."

"Of course not," she snapped. "Why would you sleep in _my_ bed?"

"This is _my_ bed," he said, gesturing to the soft mattress underneath her.

She looked down. It looked much like the bed in her room. She looked around. Everything seemed similar, but there were slight differences. This was not her hotel room.

"Why the hell am I in _your_ room?!" she demanded, sitting up.

"You overworked yourself," he said. "You should be more careful."

"Overworked?!" she repeated indignantly, getting to her feet. "I have never overworked myself!"

"Calm down," he teased. "We don't want you passing out again."

She seethed with anger. How dare he suggest that she couldn't handle herself?

"Where are my friends?" she asked. "Why didn't they take me to my room?"

Mystogan shrugged. "They brought you here and asked me to take care of you."

"And you agreed?"

He nodded. "Sure," he said. "I wasn't going to deny a pretty girl from sleeping in my bed."

"You think you're so smooth and cool," she accused, "but you're not!"

"Is that so?" he asked.

She was becoming upset that she was unable to provoke him. He didn't seem bothered by anything she said. She would have to try harder.

"I bet your Erza Scarlet doesn't think you're cool either," she sneered.

"I don't really care," he said calmly. "She's more into my brother anyway."

"Yeah, what's the difference, if you're twins?" she asked.

"Triplets," he corrected. " _You're_ the one with a twin."

"I am not!" she protested. "I'll bet I don't even look like her and you're just stupid!"

"I'll definitely take that bet," he smirked, pulling his phone from his pocket. "What do I get if I win?"

"What are you doing?" she asked as he started searching for something on his phone.

"Showing you Erza Scarlet," he said matter-of-factly. He turned his phone screen towards her to reveal a picture of a girl that looked exactly like her. "See?" he asked. "Even your hairstyles aren't that different."

"Ugh! You're infuriating!" she said, stomping her foot.

"Leave whenever you want," he said. "I'm not keeping you here."

"Fine! I'm leaving!" she snapped.

"Go right ahead," he said coolly.

She stormed out of the room, not even sure what she was so angry about.

-.-.-

"You assholes!" she accused her friends when she reached their room. "Why the hell would you put me in Mystogan's room?"

Hughes and Sugarboy snickered while Coco looked apologetic.

Hughes spoke first. "It just seemed like a good opportunity for you to get to know each other."

"What?!" she exclaimed, angrily.

"He seems so interested in you," Sugarboy added. "And you seem so passionate about him."

"I'm gonna _kill_ you two!"

"Come on, Erza," Coco piped up. "They were only playing. And Mystogan seems like a real standup guy, agreeing to take care of you and all."

"I'm going to bed," Erza growled, walking over to the door. "If I wake up anywhere but in my own bed, there will be hell to pay."

She slammed the door behind her and made her way to her own room. She stood in front of the bathroom mirror, looking at herself and remembering the picture of Erza Scarlet. She wondered why they did look so much alike; even their hairstyles. Frustrated, she grabbed a pair of scissors. There would be no more mistaking her for Erza Scarlet.


	29. Twenty-Nine - Myst Fernandes

**Twenty-Nine - Myst Fernandes**

Myst was tuning his guitar backstage when he heard the sound of voices and footsteps coming his way. He looked up to see Coco, Hughes, and Sugarboy. He had scrounged up some backstage passes for them and Erza, though the latter had yet to use hers. They walked up to him and greeted him, seeming to not share their friend's dislike for him. Coco even admitted to having listened to every one of his songs.

"Where is Erza?" the girl asked.

"I don't know," Myst said. "I last saw her storming out of my hotel room last night."

"Huh," Hughes said, "I wonder where she is."

"I'm right here," Erza's voice said from down the hall. Everyone looked over in surprise. Coco gasped and Myst raised his eyebrows. " _Now_ you can tell us apart!" Erza said, crossing her arms and glaring at Myst.

She has cut her hair short, leaving it just above shoulder length.

"That was a little unnecessary," Myst said. "I can tell you're Knightwalker by the way distain taints every syllable when you speak to me. Scarlet is generally polite."

"Well I'm not her!" Erza scowled.

"I don't _think_ you're her," he said. "Trust me."

She just grumbled and walked away. Her friends turned back to Myst.

"So," Hughes said conspiratorially. "Do you like her?"

"What? Her new hair?" Myst asked, focusing on tuning his guitar. "Sure. Why not?"

"Not the hair!" Sugarboy said.

"Do you like _Erza_?" Coco asked.

"Hmm, a question I never really thought I'd get," Myst mused. "Though, I thought there was just the one Erza."

"Sooo?" the three prodded.

"Yeah, I suppose I do," he said. "Weird feeling." The three cheered and celebrated as though they had achieved a great feat. "Why are you so happy about that?" Myst asked.

"Because we want her to be happy," Coco explained. "And she likes you."

Myst raised his eyebrows skeptically. "I very highly doubt that," he said. "She clearly despises me."

"You just don't know her well enough," Hughes shrugged.

"Yeah," Sugarboy agreed. "If she didn't like you, she'd be much crueler."

"You might be dead, in fact," Hughes added.

Myst absently continued tuning his guitar, his mind preoccupied with deciding whether or not he believed what they were saying. If he had been paying more attention, perhaps his string wouldn't have snapped. It took him a second to realize what had happened. His finger was bleeding from being struck by the broken end of the string. He cursed under his breath.

"Now I have to get a new string," he grumbled, inwardly blaming Erza for distracting his thoughts. "I have to go," he told the others. "See you later."

-.-.-

In his room, he searched for his box of guitar strings. He didn't have a whole lot of time before he was supposed to be on stage, and he was frustrated that he hadn't put it in an easier to remember place. When he had finally found it and was running out the door, he smacked right into Erza. They both stumbled backwards, dizzy from the impact. Myst recovered first.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

She scowled, but he noticed she also seemed a bit embarrassed. "Nothing!" she said.

"Why were you coming into my room?" he asked. She just crossed her arms and looked away. "You sure are strange," he sighed. She didn't respond. "Well, I have to get going. See you at the show."

He turned to leave, but she quickly grabbed his arm to hold him back. "Wait," she said.

"What?" he asked, turning to face her again. She didn't say anything. She wouldn't even look at him. He tried not to sound exasperated as he spoke. "Look, I'm gonna be late if I-"

"I'm sorry for acting like a jerk all the time," she interrupted.

"That's alright," he said. "I'm kinda numb to jerkiness. My brother-"

"I'm not finished," she said, cutting him off once again.

"If you're trying to not be a jerk, interrupting me isn't the best way to go," he pointed out. She glared up at him, but she didn't seem as angry as usual. "Is there something you want to say, Erza?" he asked, after she was silent for a long moment. "I really do have to-"

"Okay, the thing is-"

"There you go, interrupting again," he mumbled.

" _The thing is_ ," she repeated, "Coco said that the best way to make friends is not to be mean to them."

"You want to be my friend?" he asked.

"Shut up!" she snapped.

"Did Coco forget to tell you that shouting at people to 'shut up' isn't very friendly?"

"You are making this difficult," she said. "I'm trying to be civil."

"I take it that's not your strong suit," he said.

"Fine!" she exclaimed. "Don't be my friend! I don't care!" She started to walk away, but it was _Myst's_ turn to grab _her_ arm and hold her back. "Let go," she said.

"You know, I already considered us friends," he said.

She looked back at him, surprised. "Really?" she asked.

He nodded and smirked slightly. "More than that, really."

"More?" she repeated, sounding slightly nervous, which seemed like a strange tone of voice for her.

"Yeah," he shrugged. "I mean, you did sleep in my bed, after all. I had to carry you. I had to change your clothes. I-"

"My clothes?!" she yelped, pulling her arm from his grasp.

"Wow," Myst said. "I never thought I'd see you blush."

"You-"

"I was joking, Erza," he said with a slight smile. "I didn't even touch you. Hughes and Sugarboy carried you in and set you down on the bed. I checked that you were breathing and then I left you alone until I wanted to sleep."

"Oh," she said, visibly calming down.

"I didn't know you could get embarrassed," he mused. "That seems more like an Erza _Scarlet_ thing."

She frowned. "I'm not her," she said.

"I know that," he said. "Why are you so afraid that I think you're her?"

"Because I'm _not_ ," she said. "Because you're not supposed to think of us the same way."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that," he said. "I definitely don't feel this way about the other Erza."

"Feel _what_ way?" she asked tentatively.

"We've known each other for months now," he said. "You're either naive or lying to yourself if you don't know how I think of you."

"I am _not_ naive!" she defended herself.

"Lying then?" he asked.

"I'm not!" she insisted. "You just..."

"I just make your heart flutter so much that you can't think straight?" _I have_ got _to stop acting like Sieg,_ he thought. _Say something Jellal would say. That'll cancel it out._ "That's how _I_ feel." _That might've been too much._ Erza didn't even respond. She just stared at him in shock for a moment, and then ran off. Myst figured he would have to talk to her again later. At the moment, he was late and thousands of people were waiting on him.


	30. Thirty - Jellal Fernandes

**Thirty - Jellal Fernandes**

Prison was not the best experience. Jellal had been there for almost a month. He knew that Lahar despised him, but even _he_ wasn't as bad as some of the guards. He guessed that they must know the real reason Lahar threw him in jail. According to records, he burned down the planetarium, but mostly what Lahar and the prison guards cared about was the extortion of their children, who so happened to be on the Era Student Council.

Jellal had been without food for days when he got the news. He was changing cells. Apparently being in a cell by himself, with no food, and poor treatment for his broken rib, wasn't bad enough. As he was waiting for his new cell door to open, the inmate in the neighboring cell spoke to him.

"I don't envy you kid," he said. "Your new cellmate is a monster."

"What?" Jellal asked, a little worried.

"A demon, more like," the man said. "They say he's in for stealing the heart of a child and then killing his girlfriend."

"What?!" Jellal repeated, significantly more worried.

The cell door opened and he was shoved inside by a guard that kind of resembled a frog.

"If you die in there," the guard sneered, "I don't mind cleaning up your body."

Jellal didn't respond. He'd learned that that was the best way to deal with the near constant abuse. Eventually, they would get bored for awhile when he didn't fight back. He wasn't sure if that tactic was going to work as well with his cellmate. He looked around the small cell until he saw a man with dark hair sitting in the corner.

"Hello," the man said. "I'd stay away from me, if I were you."

"Why is that?" Jellal asked warily.

"Everything that comes near me dies," he said, a bit morosely.

"Oh," Jellal said. "I'll just stay over here then."

"That's probably for the best. I'm Zeref, by the way."

"Jellal," Jellal greeted, sitting down on his new bed.

"What are you in for?" Zeref asked.

"That is a long and complicated story," Jellal sighed.

"Is that your way of saying it wasn't your fault?" Zeref asked.

" _No_ ," Jellal said. "Well, some of it wasn't my fault, but I helped. And I lied to cover up for it. So I'm just as guilty."

"Accomplice to murder?"

"What? No!" Jellal exclaimed. "I- no. Not that."

Zeref shrugged. "Nowhere near as bad as me then."

"How exactly do you go about stealing the heart of a child?" Jellal wondered, not really expecting an answer.

"Everyone makes it sound like he was still _alive_ when I took it," Zeref said quietly. "But I suppose the wording makes me seem tough enough for people to leave me alone in here."

"So, you stole the heart of a dead child?" Jellal asked. "Or, you killed him and then took it?"

"Listen, Jellal, you seem fairly harmless-"

"Tell that to my life that I've destroyed," he said cynically.

"-so I'm going to tell you what I did," Zeref finished. "Then, maybe you'll see that whatever you did isn't as bad as it could be and you can stop being so self-deprecating."

"Great," Jellal said. "I'll win the 'Not As Much Of A Jerk As I Could Have Been' award."

Zeref ignored the comment and started in on his story. "When I was much younger, my home caught fire and burned down, taking my parents with it. My little brother and I barely survived. Now, my brother had had a heart defect since he was born, and everything with the fire made his health turn south. Long story short, he needed a new heart."

"I see," Jellal said.

"Of course, healthy young children's hearts are not really that available," Zeref said. "And the waiting list was far too long by the time I got his name on it. He needed a heart immediately. Now, don't go crazy thinking I took a heart from another kid that needed a transplant, because I didn't. I probably _would_ have, to be fair, but it didn't come to that."

"So, where did you get the heart then?" Jellal asked.

Zeref sighed. "From a kid whose parents refused to donate his healthy organs," he said. "He had the perfect blood type and he died of some accident, so the heart was perfect. They just didn't want to donate it. I had been studying surgery and medicine for a long time, so I knew what I was doing. I went into the morgue when no one was there and I stole the heart."

"That's... messed up, to be honest," Jellal said.

"I know," Zeref said. "But it saved my brother's life. I hadn't seen him since the surgery I performed. I was in court for a long time and he ended up in the Dragon Foster Care System."

"Dragon?" Jellal repeated, confused.

"A super special foster care program," Zeref shrugged, "for special cases. The judge I ended up with was fairly sympathetic, and I was able to avoid prison for a long time. I had some semblance of a life, still without my brother though. I did get a girlfriend, but that didn't last long."

"You- you killed her?" Jellal asked.

Zeref nodded. "Yes," he said somberly. "Though, it was an accident. A car accident, to be precise."

"That's rough, buddy," Jellal said.

"Yeah," Zeref said. "She died. I lived. The judge lost all sympathy. I ended up in prison."

"For how long?" Jellal asked.

"Four hundred years," Zeref said.

"I'm sorry, what?" Jellal wasn't sure he had heard right. "Four _hundred_ years?"

Zeref nodded. "That's what they do when they want you in prison for life. Even if I were to get my sentence halved for good behavior or something, I'd still die here."

"Wow, that... is an awful story," Jellal said. "I thought _my_ life was messed up."

"You wanna know what's even more messed up?" Zeref asked sadly. "My brother died the other day. His plane crashed with him and all his Fairy Tail foster family on board. All that work to save him and he still died young." It took Jellal a very long moment to process what he had just heard. "Are you alright?" Zeref asked. "Was my story too much?"

"Did- I'm sorry- Did you say that the plane Fairy Tail was on crashed?" Jellal asked. "'Tail' with an 'i'?"

"Yes," Zeref said. "I got the news yesterday. They said no one survived."

Jellal stood up, and then sat right back down. He stood up again and paced for a short moment, then looked back at Zeref.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"It's what I was told," Zeref said. "Why? Do you know someone from Fairy Tail?"

"I- yes," Jellal said. "I go to Fairy Hills. And..." He fell to his knees and put his head in his hands. "This can't be right. It can't! Erza was on the plane. She wouldn't die. She can't. I can't- There's no way."

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news," Zeref said. "At least now you won't miss the outside world as much."

"That is not helpful!" Jellal said.

"Well, don't fall apart completely," Zeref said. "Dinner is soon."

-.-.-

Jellal didn't even feel hungry, despite how little food he'd had recently. He contemplated whether he would be better off just dying of starvation; at least then things couldn't get worse. He didn't get off of the floor until well past dinnertime. He felt completely desolate and entirely sure that there would be no more happiness in his life. Just as he was coming to terms with that, two familiar faces appeared on the other side of the cell door.

"Well, look what we have here," Ultear said.

"He looks like a kicked puppy," Meredy noted.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked.

"Breaking you out of prison," Ultear said.

"What?" Jellal asked. "You can't do that."

"Well, technically we're not breaking you out," Meredy said. "But Ultear has convinced the guard on duty to let you free. Aaaannd she also destroyed all the paperwork that says you're supposed to be here."

"What?!" Jellal said again, incredulously. "Ultear, you cannot do that."

"Too late," she said. "It's done. Sorry it took so long. We had to wait until the guard on duty wasn't one that had a kid at Era."

"Looks like you're getting out of here," Zeref said from his corner.

Ultear looked over and gasped. "Is that _Zeref_? The medical prodigy?" she asked excitedly. "I love your work!"

"Ultear, he stole the heart of a child!" Meredy said.

"Right, right, sorry," Ultear said, calming down. "In any case, we're just here for Jellal."

"Come on, Jellal," Meredy said. "Let's get you home."


	31. Thirty-One - Siegrain Fernandes

**Thirty-One - Siegrain Fernandes**

Siegrain wasn't sure how Ultear had managed to spring Jellal from prison, but he was glad she managed it before their father came home from his trip. There would only be a few more days before he was supposed to be home, and it would have been hard to explain why Jellal would be locked away. As it was, Siegrain didn't really notice a difference between Jellal being at home or not. When he was home, he stayed in his room constantly. He had barely said two words since Ultear and Meredy dropped him off.

Siegrain supposed his mood was due to the news about Fairy Tail's plane crash. Though he would have thought Jellal would want to go visit them in the hospital, even if they wouldn't actually be able to talk to him. Sieg had visited once, but Tenrou Hospital was far away, and it didn't seem worth it to travel all that way to talk to a girl in a coma. He figured he'd just give Jellal space. He had student council matters to focus on anyway.

He had just managed to secure the position of Student Council President. All of his work had paid off. He had a lot more responsibility, but he could handle it. And then his father would see that he could handle the company as well. He was determined to succeed.

-.-.-

One night, Jellal actually came downstairs for dinner.

"Look who's alive!" Siegrain greeted.

"Don't remind me," Jellal said.

"Look," Siegrain said, "I know you're upset about the whole Fairy Tail crash thing, but it's not the end of the world."

Jellal glared at him, which took Siegrain aback. He'd never seen him so angry. "How could you say that?" Jellal asked. "I know you don't care about the rest of them, but I was sure you'd at least be upset to learn that _Erza_ died."

Siegrain was a bit confused. Of course he would be upset if Erza had died, but it hadn't come to that yet. Then he realized what was going on. Jellal had heard the story wrong. Siegrain sighed and figured he ought to explain.

"Jellal-"

"I don't want to hear it, Sieg," Jellal said, getting up and walking out of the kitchen. "I guess I'm done expecting any sort of compassion from you."

"Fine," Sieg snapped. "Go be depressed and alone. See if I care."

He heard the front door slam shut as Jellal left the house. He vaguely wondered where he was going and if he was going to be careful not to get spotted by any police officers. Then he decided he didn't really care. If Jellal wanted to believe Erza was dead, maybe he'd get over her. Maybe then, when she woke up, Sieg wouldn't have to worry about them.


	32. Thirty-Two - Ultear Milkovich

**Thirty-Two - Ultear Milkovich**

Ultear was a bit frustrated. For a little while, Siegrain had been hanging out with her a lot. As Vice President of the Student Council, she had a lot of opportunities to spend time with him. Things had been going great. But he had been growing more distant recently.

She could tell he was plotting something, but he wouldn't let her in on the plan, which was highly unusual. She wanted to talk to Jellal and ask if he knew anything, but Jellal was always out whenever she was over. She knew he was still going to school, albeit begrudgingly, to help Myst, so she decided to track him down then. She spotted him as he turned a corner, so she hurried to catch up. She stopped short, just before rounding the corner, when she heard him speak.

"Headmaster Yajima?" he asked.

 _That was close,_ Ultear thought. _I can't let Headmaster Yajima catch me skipping class._

"Oh, hello, Jellal," Yajima said.

"Uh, hi," Jellal said. "Oh, but I'm Myst, though."

"Don't be silly, Jellal," Yajima said.

"Um, right," Jellal said nervously. "Why are you here, sir?"

"Ah, I take care of Fairy Hills as a favor while Makarov is gone," he said.

"Oh," Jellal said somberly. "So, will you be headmaster of both schools now?"

"Only until Makarov returns," Yajima said.

"Returns?" Jellal repeated. "Did you not hear what happened? With the plane crash?"

"Ah, yes," Yajima said. "Quite sad. But I have no doubt he will be back on his feet soon."

"Sir?"

"I'm sorry, Jellal," Yajima interrupted. "I must be getting back to Era."

"I'm not Je- Oh, never mind," Jellal said. Ultear peeked around the corner to see Yajima walking off. Jellal began to start walking as well, when Ultear reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him around the corner. "Ah! What?! Why?" he exclaimed.

"Shush," Ultear said. "I need to speak with you."

"Oh, Ultear," he said. "Hello."

"First of all," she started. "Have you been avoiding me? Every time I'm at your house, you're not there."

"No," he said. "I'm not avoiding you. I'm just not at home a lot. And I'm avoiding Sieg."

"Ah," she said. "I'm guessing that means you don't know what he's plotting, then?"

"No," he said warily. "What is he plotting now?"

"I don't know!" she said. "He won't tell me!"

"Well, I suppose I'll help you find out," Jellal said.

"Really?!" she asked. "Thank you!"

-.-.-

A few days later, Ultear, Jellal, and Meredy were sitting in Ultear's living room. Meredy had agreed to help them as well.

"This will be so fun!" Meredy exclaimed. "We can be a secret organization set on taking down evil!"

"Sieg isn't _evil_ per se," Jellal said.

"We'll call ourselves 'Crime Sorciere'!" she went on enthusiastically.

"Why that?" Ultear asked.

Meredy shrugged. "It just sounds cool, I think."

"Okay, whatever," Jellal said. "How should we go about this?"

"Well, he's _your_ brother," Meredy said. "So _you_ are in charge."

"I agree," Ultear said. "Besides, you need something to occupy your time. This is better than moping around wishing you were still in prison."

"I don't wish I was in prison!" he protested.

"But you do think you still need to pay for things you've done?" she asked. "Don't lie. I know that's how you feel."

"But-"

"Perfect!" Meredy interrupted. "After we figure out how to stop whatever evil plan Sieg is up to-"

"He's not-"

"Then we can find other good deeds to do!" she finished, not allowing Jellal to speak. "It'll be the best club ever! And we can make up for stuff we've done in the past."

Jellal gave her a strange look. "What could _you_ have done, Meredy?" he asked.

"You'd be surprised!" she grinned. "Now, let's get to work."


	33. Thirty-Three - Jellal Fernandes

**Thirty-Three - Jellal Fernandes**

It had been weeks, and they still hadn't discovered what Siegrain was up to. Jellal was beginning to think he wasn't really up to anything, but they kept at it. He was sure he'd do something eventually. Jellal wasn't anywhere _near_ over Erza, but at least he was able to have a distraction to keep him from spiraling further into depression. Ultear and Meredy were very helpful and he actually wasn't feeling completely terrible.

It had been seven weeks since the plane crash. Everyone avoided talking about it, and that was fine by Jellal. He didn't need to break down in front of other people. He tried to move along with his life as best as he could. He tried not to think about Erza, and distracted himself with other thoughts.

He wondered what would happen to the Fairy Tail kids who had stayed behind. Without Makarov, who was taking care of them? Jellal was pondering on this as he got dressed in the morning. All of a sudden, Ultear burst into his room, closely followed by Meredy. He jumped in surprise and was incredibly glad he was already fully dressed.

"You can't just come into my room without knocking first!" he shouted.

"They're awake!" Ultear said, smiling widely. "Jellal, they woke up!"

" _Who_ woke up?" he asked. "What are you talking about?"

"A new medication was discovered that helps coma patients!" Meredy explained excitedly. "Everyone is coming home next week! Even some random girl who happened to also be in a coma at Tenrou Hospital!"

"Tenrou?" Jellal repeated. "I don't understand."

"Fairy Tail woke up," Ultear said. "Erza is coming home."

"But she- I thought-" he started, his brain working to piece things together. "A coma?"

"Why are you not more excited about this?" Meredy asked. "We thought you'd be thrilled."

"I think he's still processing," Ultear said.

"Erza..." he said slowly. "Erza... isn't dead?"

There was silence for a long moment. Both girls looked confused. Then Ultear's expression shifted to sympathy.

"No, Jellal," she said. "They didn't _die_ in the plane crash. Their plane landed in water and a search and rescue team found them. They were unconscious and they had injuries, but they survived. They've been kept at Tenrou Hospital since, all asleep."

"But," Jellal said, his heart beating fast as his brain told him it was too good to be true, "Zeref said- and Sieg..."

Ultear frowned. " _Siegrain_ told you they were dead?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jellal said slowly, his mind still preoccupied. "I don't understand."

"Well, I'll have to have words with him," Ultear said angrily. "But they are not, in fact, dead. And you'll see them next week."

-.-.-

"You, Siegrain Fernandes, are an asshole! The worst kind of human being! I cannot believe I even associate myself with you! How could you do that to your own brother?!"

Jellal could hear Ultear all through the house. He figured he should probably be mad at Sieg, but he was too distracted by the fact that Erza was alive and he would be able to see her very soon. Meredy walked into his room, her arms full of some sort of blue fabric. She closed the door behind her, muffling Ultear's shouting. She shook her head amusedly.

"He's trying to defend himself," she said. "He said he was trying to help you get over Erza before she came back. But that only made Ultear even angrier."

Jellal looked down. "Maybe I should just try to get over her," he said. "I don't have any right to be with her anyway. And Siegrain wouldn't let me be with her, even if I tried."

"Don't be stupid, Jellal," Meredy said. "And throw that old hoodie away. It symbolizes the old you. We have new jackets now!"

"What?" he asked, as she tossed her bundle of blue fabric on the bed. "The old me?"

"We are all changing for the better with our new club," she said. "Including our wardrobe! I had these custom made, from Heart Kreuz!"

"You're taking this club pretty seriously, aren't you?" he asked as she separated the bundle into three, zip-up hoodies with light gray lining and a strange symbol emblazoned on the left side.

"Of course!" she said. "It's important!"

"What is that emblem?" he asked.

"It's our club logo," she said.

"A skull with a wizard hat and a beard?"

"Look closer," she said. "The beard is a 'U' for 'Ultear'. The hat is an upside down 'J' for 'Jellal'. And, right here, next to the skull, is a little, sideways 'M' for 'Meredy'."

"And what is the skull for?" he asked.

"To make us more intimidating!"

"I thought we were doing _good_ things," he said.

"Sometimes we'll need to be intimidating for that," she said. "Now put this on."

She threw him one of the hoodies and he switched out his old one. The new one was comfortable, at least. And his previous one _had_ been getting pretty old. He hadn't noticed that Ultear's shouting had ceased until she stormed into the room. She slammed the door behind her and sat down on the bed in a huff.

" _Why_ do I put up with him?!" she exclaimed.

"Because you-"

"Hush, Meredy!" she interrupted.

Meredy shrugged and handed Ultear a hoodie. Ultear accepted it without a word, so Jellal figured Meredy had already explained the reason for it.

"So, did he apologize at all?" Meredy asked.

"Of course not," Ultear grumbled. "As usual, he thinks whatever he does is right."

"Did you tell him his plan failed anyway?" Meredy asked. "Jellal is clearly still in love with Erza."

Jellal felt his face flush, but didn't deny it. There was no point. He really was in love with Erza. But it didn't really matter how he felt. What mattered was that he didn't deserve to be with her.


	34. Thirty-Four - Erza Scarlet

**Thirty-Four - Erza Scarlet**

It was disconcerting to wake up and realize you had missed seven weeks of your life. Erza was surrounded by other, recently awakened, Fairy Tail friends when she opened her eyes. There was another girl in the hospital who had also been in a coma for quite some time. Apparently, no one had known who the girl was. She had been there for many years and had come in with no identification.

When she woke up, along with the Fairy Tail people, it was discovered that she was a long lost relative of one of Makarov's old friends. Apparently, everyone had thought her dead, but she had merely ended up in a coma as an unknown patient. Makarov knew that none of her family was left, so she had no place to go home to. He invited her at once to call Fairy Tail her home. So they were joined by Mavis Vermillion on their journey home.

Things seemed surreal at first, but Erza was excited to be going back home. The Tenrou trip had been completely called off for the time being. They rented a couple of vans and drove back home, rather than revisiting the trauma of flying. Their return was met with a huge party and everyone celebrated the whole day. It was near sunset when Erza decided to go outside and get some fresh air.

She went for a short walk and was thinking of how thankful she was to have survived. She breathed in the air and looked at the nearly setting sun. Resolving to never take life for granted again, she decided it was time to head back to the house. She was about to turn back toward home when she heard footsteps. She turned the other way instead and saw three figures just up the sidewalk from her.

They had the hoods of their hoodies up and Erza was confused for a moment. As they drew closer, she recognized them. Speechless, she waited for them to look up and see her. When they did, they stopped short. She took a few hesitant steps closer, hardly daring to believe who was before her.

"Erza," Jellal said, pulling his hood back so she could see his face. Ultear and Meredy followed suit, smiling at her.

"Jellal," Erza breathed. "You're not in jail."

"I'm sorry," he said. "It wasn't my idea."

"Ultear broke him out," Meredy grinned.

"Sort of," Ultear smiled.

"And we started a 'making things right' club!" Meredy said excitedly.

"Making things right?" Erza repeated.

"We're doing good things to make up for mistakes we've made," Jellal said.

"I see," she said, not sure what else to say. She was still so shocked to see Jellal.

"Well, we'll leave you two alone to talk," Ultear said with a grin.

"See ya!" Meredy called as the girls walked away.

Jellal and Erza stared at one another for a very long moment before either of them spoke.

"So, we should move out of the open," he said. "Technically, I shouldn't really be free. But I'm fine as long as no police officers see me."

"Your house is nearby," she suggested.

"We shouldn't go inside," he said. "But we could go out back. The trees will block any view from the street."

She nodded and they walked down the sidewalk.

"So," she said. "We never really got the chance to talk, before."

"That's true," he said. "And I wasn't able to apologize properly."

"Ultear told me everything, remember?" she said.

"I'm still at fault," he said. "I could have stopped Sieg. I could have refused to help and refused to lie. I definitely shouldn't have lied to you. I had already hurt you back when we were children. I would understand if you never wanted to see me again."

"Jellal-"

"I had a lot of time to think," he said. "I don't know why I even survived prison. It would have been best if I had died."

Erza bristled angrily. "Excuse me?" she asked.

She couldn't imagine how she would feel if she had learned that Jellal had died while she was gone. He didn't even look up at her. They had reached his house by that point. He opened the gate to his backyard, but didn't start down the stairs that led down to it. He turned toward her instead.

"I just don't know what else to do," he said.

"What about your 'making things right' club?" she asked. "Aren't you going to follow through with that?"

"I'm not sure," he said dejectedly, still staring at the ground. "I don't know that anything I would do could make up for my mistakes. I feel so hopeless. I might just be better off dead."

Before she even knew what she was doing, she had slapped him across the face. She was so angry she had to take a moment to process her thoughts. He looked at her in surprise, a red mark forming on his cheek. She wondered if her action had snapped him out of it, but his surprise faded back to depression. She had to make him see how stupid he was being.

"You can't think that way!" she shouted. "You have to live! Even through the hard times!"

"I'm not as strong as you are, Erza," he sighed.

"So you'll just die?!" she asked. "That's stupid! Besides, living on is a sign of strength! Look what you've been strong enough to live through so far!" His expression didn't change. "You're not the same as back when I first knew you," she accused.

"Maybe you're right," he said.

"You jerk!" she shouted, grabbing him by the front of his hoodie. Her foot caught on a loose bit of pavement and she stumbled into him. "Whoa!" she exclaimed.

She lost her balance and fell completely against him. Her momentum knocked him backwards, down the stairs, while she was still holding tight to his hoodie. They tumbled, head over heels, all the way down, and landed in the grass. Erza ended up on her back, with Jellal on top of her. Both of their faces were flushed red from the intimacy of the situation.

After a moment, Jellal's surprised expression softened. "You're always right," he said.

"No," she said. "I just know I have to try in order to keep going."

"Erza..." he breathed.

She looked up at him, so happy to see him. So full of emotion.

"I thought-" she put one hand over her eyes, trying not to cry, but a tear slipped down her cheek. "I thought I'd never see you again, Jellal."

She felt more tears, but didn't bother trying to stop them. She placed her hands on either side of his head, looking into his eyes. He followed her example, brushing her tears away as he brought his hands to the sides of her face. Erza remembered when they were children, how close they had been and how much she had liked him. She remembered how hurt she had been when he never tried to keep in contact.

He brought his face closer to hers and she knew exactly what was coming. She slowly sat up and the gap between them grew smaller and smaller. She remembered all their time together since he had come back into her life. There had been good times and not so good times, but she couldn't imagine trading any of them in. His lips were so close to hers and her heart was beating incredibly fast.

They were holding each other close, neither paying attention to the sunset or the beautiful colors it created in the sky. Their lips met as they pressed close to each other. The wonderful moment ended abruptly. Much to Erza's surprise, Jellal shoved her away from himself, breaking their kiss. He looked away, leaving her very confused.

"I can't..." he said. Erza felt a pang in her heart. "I-" he continued, "I have a fiancée."

There was silence for a short moment.

"What?!" she exclaimed, completely in shock. "I- um- sorry! I didn't meant to-"

"No... I- er- sorry..." he said, scratching the back of his head and still not making eye contact.

"It's- it's been seven weeks," she said, looking down and wondering how he could possibly have fallen so in love with someone else so quickly.

"It's- ah- yeah- fast. I know..." he said.

"Yeah..." she said, still having trouble believing it. She looked up at him again. He was blushing and avoiding her gaze and... "Oh," she said. _He's lying,_ she thought. _Of course._ She sighed and smiled slightly. _I suppose he has his reasons._ "So, she must be very important to you," she said.

"Uh- well- yes, of course," he said, a little shakily.

"Then you have to _live_ , for her, right?" she asked.

He looked at her sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said.

-.-.-

"I can't believe how clumsy that lie was," Erza mused as she headed back home. "Why fiancée? Why not simply a girlfriend?" She sighed. "Well, I guess he's not ready for a relationship. I'll have to give him his space."


	35. Thirty-Five - Jellal Fernandes

**Thirty-Five - Jellal Fernandes**

"So, Jellal," Meredy said when he came back into the house. "Why, exactly, did you lie to Erza?"

"Y-you guys were watching?!" he asked incredulously. He should have known they would be, but it didn't make it any less embarrassing.

"And things were going so well," Ultear sighed. "Are you still trying to punish yourself?"

"That was a _really_ lame lie too," Meredy said.

"Did you think you'd sound cool or something?" Ultear asked.

"I panicked," he defended.

"Why even lie in the first place?" Ultear asked. "Why not just be with her?"

"I can't," he said. "There's too many things telling me I shouldn't. I have to be careful not to get caught by Lahar again. I have things to do with Crime Sorciere that I need to focus on. And, even without those things, I've done enough that she doesn't deserve me. On top of all that," he added, "Siegrain would kill me if he found out."

Ultear and Meredy sighed, but stopped protesting, which he was glad for. He just wanted to go to his room and be alone for awhile. On his way up the stairs, he ran into Siegrain. He glared at Jellal, but didn't say a word. Jellal wasn't sure what that was about, but he figured Sieg must be in a bad mood.


	36. Thirty-Six - Siegrain Fernandes

**Thirty-Six - Siegrain Fernandes**

Siegrain hadn't been so angry in a long time. Jealousy overwhelmed him and he wanted to do something rash. He wanted to make sure he never again saw what he had just seen. He tried to forget the image, but it was burned into his mind. From, the window, he had watched Jellal and Erza tumble down the steps.

He had been frozen to the spot, at first, watching everything play out. He had kept waiting for them to get up. He had still been hoping his plan to make Jellal get over Erza had worked. But he had no such luck. When they had finally kissed, he could watch no longer.

That small hint of a smile on Jellal's face as he came up the stairs was even more enraging. Something had to be done. It might be drastic. It might even be wrong, but Sieg didn't care. He was going to get back at Jellal.


	37. Thirty-Seven - Myst Fernandes

**Thirty-Seven - Myst Fernandes**

Myst was not expecting the call from his father. He was confused at first, but that quickly changed to concern when he heard the tone of his father's voice. He seemed very angry. Myst was sure something had gone wrong at home. Erza was hanging out with him, so he tried to keep his voice low as he spoke.

"Dad, why are you so upset?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

"You know very well what's wrong, Myst," Faust growled. " _Why_ aren't you at home?"

"I'm at a friend's," Myst said. "I'll be home later. Are you back from your business trip."

"I am," Faust said. "And I know where you are. Enough with the lies. Siegrain told me everything."

"What?!" Myst exclaimed, attracting Erza's attention. "What did he tell you?"

"He told me all about your leaving home, directly defying me," Faust said. "And he told me about Jellal's expulsion, and about how he's been lying to cover for you."

"But-" Myst started.

"You will come home immediately," Faust interrupted.

"I will not!" Myst insisted. "I'm staying right where I am."

"You're coming home immediately," Faust said again, "or you'll be disowned, just like Jellal."

"You can't be serious!" Myst said. "You disowned him?!"

"You have three days to be home," Faust said. "Or else your fate will be the same."

"Dad!" Myst said, but his father had already hung up. "Dammit!" He yelled, resisting the urge to throw his phone across the room. He honestly didn't care too much about being disowned. What he cared more about was what Jellal would do without a home to go to. He dialed Jellal's number, but it went straight to voicemail. "Hey, it's me," he said. "If you get this message, call back. Everything will be okay. I'll figure something out."

He hung up and called Siegrain. He also didn't pick up the phone. Myst didn't bother leaving a message for him. He sat down in a nearby chair and looked at Erza, who seemed to be waiting for some sort of explanation. He wasn't sure entirely what to say.

"Family troubles?" she asked, when he didn't speak.

She had become far more civil with him recently. They had even become what he would consider friends. She actually sounded sincere in her questioning. He didn't know how to answer though. He sighed and looked down.

"It's hard to explain," he said.

"Well, from what I gather from your end of the conversation," Erza said, "You're lying to your dad about where you are and he wants you to come home. And, for some related reason, he's disowned your brother."

"Well, that's fairly close," Myst said. "My dad... isn't the best father. And my brothers are probably having some sort of fight right now, if Sie- if one decided to tell Dad about what was going on with everything." He sighed again. "I wonder what made him mad enough to do that."


	38. Thirty-Eight - Jellal Fernandes

**Thirty-Eight - Jellal Fernandes**

Jellal wasn't at all sure what to do. He didn't understand why Siegrain had suddenly turned on him and Myst. He wanted to get as far away from the house as he could before his father decided he needed even more punishment. Already, he was nursing broken ribs, which had only recently managed to heal after his last physical altercation. He was in a lot of pain and wasn't paying too much attention to where he was headed.

He ended up at Fairy Tail's front door. He wasn't sure what brought him there. He knew Ultear or Meredy would take him in in an instant, but he still decided to knock on the door in front of him. It opened after a moment, revealing Natsu. He looked surprised.

"Whoa," Natsu said. "Who beat the shit out of you this time?"

"Natsu, what the hell?" Gray's voice came from the left. He came into view and looked at Jellal. "Oh," he said. "What the fuck happened?"

"My dad kicked me out," Jellal said. "It's a long story."

"Did he literally kick you?" Natsu asked. "Because-"

"Don't be so insensitive!" Lucy reprimanded as she walked over. "Come inside, Myst."

Jellal grimaced. "I have something to confess," he said.

"Save that for Erza," Natsu said. "I don't wanna hear it."

"It's obviously not that kind of confession," Lucy said. "What is it, Myst?"

"My name isn't Myst," Jellal said.

"What?" the three said in unison.

"My name is Jellal," he said.

"Jellal?" Lucy repeated. "That's- that's right! You're triplets!"

Jellal nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I've been pretending to be Myst to you guys all year, though."

"What? Why?" Gray asked.

"It's complicated," Jellal said. "But I'll explain it if I can also explain to Headmaster Makarov."

"I already know, Jellal," Makarov said from across the room. Everyone looked over to see the old man walking towards them. "Headmaster Yajima and I have known that this has been an elaborate ruse the whole time."

Jellal was not prepared for that revelation. "What?" he asked. "How could you know?"

"You are not your brothers," Makarov said. "You are not the best liar. Besides that, Gildarts can't keep his mouth shut when he's drunk. We know that Myst is on tour with Anima and we know that you have been covering for him. We even highly suspect that you were not solely responsible for what happened with the Era Student Council."

"Well," Jellal said. "I mean- I don't-"

"That's what I thought," Makarov said with a small smile. "Why cover for Siegrain?"

Jellal sighed and then winced as it hurt his ribs. "I just- I don't know," he said. "And now I don't know what to do."

"Why did your dad kick you out?" Gray asked.

"Because Sieg told him that I was expelled from Era," Jellal said. "And that I've been covering for Myst, who has been going against what he's been told to do."

"What?!" Natsu asked. "What a dick! Who is Sieg?"

"His brother," Lucy said. "Why would he do that?"

"I'm not sure," Jellal said dejectedly. "Everything was going- not _well_ , I suppose, but well enough that Dad didn't find out."

"Oh, we're gonna have to go _talk_ to him," Gray said threateningly.

"W-wait," Jellal said.

"Where is he?" Natsu asked. "At home?"

"No," Jellal said. "And you can't-"

"He's probably in a student council meeting at this time of day," Lucy offered.

"Let's go to Era, then," Gray said to Natsu.

"Yeah!" Natsu agreed.

"Guys-" Jellal started to protest, but they were already gone.

"Jel- Uh, Myst?" The familiar voice came from behind him as he watched Gray and Natsu run off. He spun around to see Erza looking at him from across the room. "What happened to you? And why are you here?"

"Uh..." he said, not sure what exactly he should say.

" _Jellal_ is going to stay here for awhile," Makarov said.

"What?" Jellal said in surprise. "I am?"

"You can't go back home," Makarov reminded him. "And it will be no trouble for us." He turned to Erza. "Right?"

"Of course it's no trouble," she said, seeming confused. "But what happened? Why can't you go home?"

"Siegrain happened," Lucy explained.

"Sieg did this to you?!" Erza asked, gently touching a bruise on his cheek.

"No," he said. "Sieg told my father what's been going on."

"Your father did this?!" she asked. "How could he?!"

"I'm not welcome at home anymore," he said, trying to keep himself composed. "And Myst is probably in trouble too. At least he's far away." She seemed to be speechless, examining his many wounds. Eventually, she seemed to give up on trying to respond and simply hugged him instead. "E- Erza?"

Her embrace hurt his ribs a little, but he definitely wasn't going to stop her. He placed his arms around her and held her close, his mood lightening from the feeling. She pulled back after a moment and looked him up and down. She looked so concerned and Jellal hoped he didn't look too terrible. She took his arm and started to lead him down a hall.

"Come on," she said. "Let's get you fixed up."

-.-.-

"So, this is your room?" he asked as Erza dabbed disinfectant on a bad cut on his jaw.

"Yep," she said. "I guess you've never been over here."

"Yeah," he said. "The only times we hang out are at school or my house. Well, what _used_ to be my house."

Erza scowled. "Why would Sieg do that to you?" she asked. "Why does he have to be like that?"

Jellal shrugged and winced at the pain the movement caused. "Maybe it's better this way," he said. "Now I don't have to pretend anymore."

Erza looked down at the floor. "Does that mean you won't be coming back to Fairy Hills?" she asked.

"I didn't even think about that," he said. "I suppose, now that I'm not pretending to be Myst, there's not a whole lot of reason to keep going."

"Oh," she said gloomily.

Jellal was surprised by her tone. "Erza?" he asked. She didn't look at him. "I can keep going if you want me to."

"I can't make you do that," she said forlornly, reaching to place a bandage over the cleaned cut.

He grabbed her wrists in his hands, causing her to look at him in confusion.

"I want you to be happy," he said. "Just tell me how to make that happen."

She blushed slightly. "Jellal, I-" she started. "I just don't want you to leave my life again. It's happened too many times already."

"Agreed," he said. "I'll still be going to Fairy Hills then." She smiled brightly and he released her hands. "Besides," he said as she placed the bandage on his jaw, "Mirajane should be assigning us our sack of flour soon. I can't let you do that on your own."


	39. Thirty-Nine - Ultear Milkovich

**Author's Note:**

*gets to the part i really started writing this fanfic for*  
me: *sternly* this better be good, me

-.-.-

 **Thirty-Nine - Ultear Milkovich**

Ultear noticed that Siegrain seemed to be in a strange mood throughout their meeting. It made her a little suspicious and she resolved to talk to him afterwards. Right as they were finishing up, the door of the room burst open loudly. Everyone looked over in surprise to see a very angry looking Gray and Natsu. Ultear wondered what they were doing at Era and what they were upset about.

"Are you Siegrain Fernandes?" Gray demanded as the two stopped in front of Sieg.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Natsu asked, not waiting for an answer. "Why are you such a dick?"

" _Excuse_ me?" Sieg asked.

"A _dick_ ," Gray repeated. "Why are you such a great big bag of dicks?"

The rest of the student council snickered and Ultear had to fight hard to not smirk. Siegrain looked entirely affronted as he stood up. Before he could say anything, Natsu punched him, right in the face. Sieg fell backwards, tumbling over his chair and landing hard on the floor. Everyone gasped and Ultear got up to see if he was okay.

"What happened, Gray?" she asked. "What did he do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Sieg said, jumping up from the floor. He held his hand over his face, seeming to be in a good deal of pain.

"Like _hell_!" Natsu shouted.

"Did he do something to Erza?" Meredy asked.

"Of course not!" Sieg snapped. A red mark was forming just under his left eye.

"No, he just betrayed his brothers and got one of 'em beat to hell," Gray said, angrily.

Ultear instantly lost any sympathy for Sieg's injury. "He _what_?" she asked, glaring.

"Oh," Sieg said. "That."

" _What_ , Siegrain?" she asked. "What did you do?" She looked back at Gray and Natsu. "Is Jellal okay?" she asked. "Where is he?"

"He's at Fairy Tail," Gray said. "And he'll be fine."

"Why would he go _there_?" Sieg asked, seeming displeased.

"Why do you care?" Natsu asked. "Just stay away from him or you'll have _us_ to deal with. I've got my eye on you."

Natsu stormed out of the room and Gray backed out after him, glaring at Sieg. "Fairy Tail, out."

Once Natsu and Gray left, everyone looked to Siegrain. He just kicked his chair angrily and put his hands in his face.

"Dammit," he said.

"Sieg, you really _are_ a great big bag of dicks," Ultear said scathingly. "Go put ice on your face."

With that, she stormed out of the room.

"Ultear, wait!" he called after her, but she paid him no mind.

-.-.-

She didn't show up at student council meetings or any of the classes she shared with Sieg for two days. When she finally saw him again, in homeroom at the end of the day, he had a huge black eye marring the left side of his face. She didn't speak to him, even when he tried to speak to her. She was mad at herself for wanting to ask how his eye felt, so she refused to even look at him. Instead she busied herself looking at a text message she had just received.

 _'Siegrain-sama is a great big bag of dicks, pass it on.'_

She didn't recognize the number the text had come from, but it was the third time in the past two days she had gotten the same message. It seemed to be travelling around the school. She even heard from Meredy that Lyon and some of his friends at Lamia Scale had received the text. She heard Sieg get a text a few minutes later, and then saw his phone soar across the room and hit the wall. Sieg didn't get up to retrieve his phone, so Ultear strolled over and picked it up, reading the messages on the screen.

 _'Siegrain-Sama is a great big bag of dicks, pass it on.'_

 _'This IS Siegrain! Who the hell is this and where did you hear that?!'_

 _'Everyone's heard it. Maybe you shouldn't be such a bag of dicks.'_

"They're right, you know," Ultear said. "Also, you shouldn't throw this. You might break it."

"It has a _case_ on it," he said, snatching his phone from her. "So, are you talking to me again?"

"That depends," she said. "Are you ready to stop being an asshat?" He didn't respond. She shrugged and walked away. "Fine," she said. "Come find me when you become a decent person. Meanwhile, I hope your face hurts a lot."


	40. Forty - Erza Scarlet

**Forty - Erza Scarlet**

Erza had been really happy for the past few weeks, though she felt a bit bad about it. She knew Jellal had to be struggling, but she liked having him around all the time. Now that everything was out in the open, there was nothing to try to keep secret. She was able to relax, for the most part. They weren't able to go out in public too often, as it was best to avoid the police, but with Jellal living at Fairy Tail, she saw him all the time.

He sometimes went off to do things with Crime Sorcière, and she hoped it was helping him. When he wasn't off with Ultear and Meredy, he was nearly always by Erza's side. They studied together. They ate together. They did almost everything together.

Sieg was never around and they never spoke of him after they heard what Gray and Natsu did, though they did receive the occasional text about him from unknown numbers. Erza sometimes wondered if Jellal was bottling up his frustrations about what happened, but she didn't want to bring down the happy mood he seemed to be in recently. Until one night, she passed by his room and saw him, through his slightly ajar door, sitting against his wall, looking downcast. She pushed his door open and he looked up at the creaking sound. He started to stand up, but Erza sat down beside him instead.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said. "I'm fine."

"After all this time, you still think you can lie to me?" she asked. He didn't say anything, but looked sheepish. "Talk to me, Jellal."

He sighed. "Do you think I'll ever be through being punished for my mistakes?" he asked.

Erza was a bit surprised by his question. "I would think you've been through enough already," she said. "You were expelled; several different people injured you, some even to the point of broken bones; you were in prison; you thought most of your friends died; your brother betrayed you; your father disowned you. I think that's more than enough." That didn't seem to make Jellal feel any better, so she went on. "Aside from all that, you've been helping people out a lot recently, with Ultear and Meredy." She looked down slightly. "You've been helping me," she said quietly.

He looked over at her in surprise. "How?" he asked.

She smiled slightly, not making eye contact with him. "I-" she started. "Well- It's just made me happy, to have you around."

"It has?"

She finally looked at him. " _Yes_ , Jellal," she smiled, tapping her finger against the side of his head. "Somewhere in there you've got to realize that I like to spend time with you." Jellal's cheeks flushed and Erza had to look away to keep him from seeing that hers did the same. "Anyway," she said. "I think, at this point, you've more than made up for anything you've done. Now come have dinner."

She stood up and started out of the room, but felt his hand grab hers to stop her from leaving. She looked back at him in surprise, trying to ignore how warm his hand felt on hers. He stared at her for a very long moment, and she stared right back, waiting for him to speak. He took a step closer and she turned more fully towards him. She wondered what he was thinking.

"Erza," he finally said. "I like to spend time with you, too." She smiled at him and started to reply, but he kept speaking. "I know that everything between us hasn't been perfect," he continued, "but I hope we can manage to stay with each other now."

He took another step closer. They were inches apart and he was still holding her hand. She couldn't get the kiss they had shared out of her head. She wondered if he was going to kiss her again and was completely prepared to let him. But he simply pulled her into a hug.

"Of course, Jellal," she sighed, smiling into his shoulder as she returned the embrace. "You've seen how many things have happened that tried to keep us apart," she said. "But we keep getting through them."

He held her more tightly at her words. "I just won't let you go this time," he said quietly. "I'll make sure nothing else tries to keep us apart."

He pulled back slightly, to look at her. Their eyes met and they were so close, his lips an inch from hers. Her heart was beating so fast and it seemed to be taking him forever to decide whether or not to kiss her. But she waited, not wanting to push him if he still wasn't ready. Suddenly, the door burst open beside them.

"Oh, sorry," Natsu said as they jumped apart from one another. "Just letting you know dinner's ready. I'll tell Mira you're busy."

"Ah, wait!" Erza exclaimed.

"No, we- we're on our way!" Jellal said. Natsu ran off and Jellal and Erza looked at one another, now several feet apart. Erza didn't know what to say. She wanted to think of something that would put him back at ease. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean..."

"Jellal, it's okay," she said.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, dashing from the room.

Erza sighed and then headed out after him.


	41. Forty-One - Jellal Fernandes

**Forty-One - Jellal Fernandes**

Jellal sat down at the table, ignoring the fact that most everyone was looking his way. He tried to pretend there was some other reason they would be looking at him

"Ahh, the arriving separately trick," Gajeel said. "Nice one."

Jellal grimaced. Levy elbowed Gajeel in the side and he just snickered. Erza came in and sat down across the table from Jellal. He didn't look at her. He hoped she wasn't mad at him.

"So, what's for dinner, Mira?" she asked, breaking the silence everyone had fallen into.

Mira raised her eyebrows and smirked, but didn't comment on what she was surely thinking about. The rest of the night progressed the same way. No one said anything, but it was obvious everyone was thinking about the same thing. It seemed like Natsu kept wanting to speak, but Lucy would stop him every time. When dinner had finished, he just stopped listening to her.

"Who cares if they're making out or not?" he asked. Jellal glanced at Erza and she seemed to have looked up at him at the same time. Both of their faces were flushed red and everyone was looking at them. "I don't understand what the problem is! Everyone was fine when it was Bickslow and Lisanna and no one even saw _that_ one coming! Everyone's been _waiting_ for Jellal and-"

"You misunderstood what you saw, Natsu," Erza said quietly. "We are not together. We weren't kissing. Drop it."

She didn't look at Jellal and he couldn't tell what she was thinking. Was she saying these things because she didn't want them to be together or because she just wanted Natsu to stop embarrassing her? She didn't wait for any sort of response. She just walked off, leaving everyone to look over at Jellal. He wanted to go after Erza, but figured it might give the wrong impression.

"She's telling the truth," he said. "It's not what you thought. It was a hug."

"That wasn't a normal hug," Natsu argued.

"Natsu!" Lucy scolded.

"I'm serious," he said. "This is a normal hug." He grabbed Lucy and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her and patting her back. "See, normal," he said. "Very friendly. _This_ ," he went on, adjusting his hold so he could touch his nose to hers. "Not so normal."

"N-Natsu, what are you-?" Lucy started, her face turning red.

"See?" he asked. "It looks like we're gonna kiss!"

"That was unnecessary," Lucy said as Natsu released her.

"Well, we didn't," Jellal said, standing up. "We weren't going to, probably."

"Probably?" Gray echoed.

Jellal sighed. "We just..." he said. "We just aren't _there_."

"You seem upset by that," Levy noted.

"Of course I am," he said. "It's not easy to be in love with someone you can't be with."

"Juvia is confused," Juvia said. "Why can't Jellal be with Erza?"

"Yeah," Gajeel said. "What exactly is the problem?"

"You both obviously want to be together," Mira said. "So go for it."

"It's not that simple," Jellal sighed. "She's too _good_ for me. All I want is for her to be happy."

"I'm sorry," Lucy said, "but that's really stupid."

"What?" Jellal asked, taken aback.

"You think she'll be happy without you?" Lucy asked. "Did you even take into account her feelings?"

"But-"

"If you truly only want her happiness," Lucy continued, "then you'd stop trying to keep her favorite person away from her. You'd stop making her have to bottle up her feelings for you."

"But she-"

"No," Lucy said. "You're smarter than this. And you're less selfish than this. Stop being self-destructive before you take Erza down with you."

"Whoa," Natsu said. "She _told_ you."

"Like you're any better, Natsu," Levy said.

"What?!" he said. "I'm not like that!"

"Nah, you're just stupid," Gray said. "You don't even _recognize_ your own feelings."

"Oh, you're one to talk!" Natsu said.

A fight broke out and Jellal used the commotion to escape to his room. He shut his door behind him and looked at the spot where he and Erza had stood together. He had almost kissed her again. It had been less than four weeks since they had kissed before, and he had almost given in to his own desires once again. He thought about what Lucy had said and wondered if he really was being stupid.

Erza had kissed him back before, and she had seemed more than willing to accept the second kiss. Despite all the things he had done, she still stuck with him. If she felt the same way he did, would it be better to let himself off the hook? If she would be happy, could he really let himself be happy too? He flopped down on his bed and fell asleep, contemplating his choices.


	42. Forty-Two - Lucy Heartfilia

**Forty-Two - Lucy Heartfilia**

Lucy couldn't stop thinking about Natsu all day, and it was really getting on her nerves. Was he really as clueless as he acted all the time? She got the distinct feeling that he often understood more than people gave him credit for. Gray had said that he didn't recognize his own feelings, but Lucy wasn't so sure. She wondered if maybe he just acted differently than everyone else did.

"What are you thinking about so hard?"

"N-Natsu!" she exclaimed as he leaned over her desk and stared right into her face.

She was reminded of how close he had gotten the night before, when proving his point about Jellal and Erza. Had he chosen Lucy for that on purpose, or had he just grabbed her randomly because she was sitting next to him? Juvia had been sitting on his other side, so he could have done that to her instead. Lucy vaguely wondered how Gray would have reacted to that. _He_ seemed more clueless than Natsu did sometimes.

"Thinkin' about me?" Natsu asked with a grin.

"No!" she denied. "What are you doing? Don't get so close!"

He didn't back off, even though the few people that hadn't left their science class yet were staring at them.

"It's time for Gym," Natsu said. "Why are you still sitting here?"

"Why are _you_ still here?" she asked.

"I'm waiting for you," he said, matter-of-factly.

"Why?" she asked, standing up and gathering her things.

He smiled at her. "Because, I like you," he said. She froze in the process of picking up her bag. She looked at him for a moment, trying to decide what exactly he meant by that. But he was impatient. "Come on," he continued, turning towards the door. "We don't want to be late."

"Natsu!" she called, as he was about to walk out the door. He turned back and looked at her expectantly. She glanced around to make sure everyone else had already left. "I like you, too," she said.

"Yeah, I knew that already," he said. "Duh! Now hurry up!"

He darted out of the room, leaving Lucy still unsure. She still couldn't tell what he was thinking. When she made it to Gym, she had to change quickly, since everyone else was already ready. They were playing dodgeball, which meant a pretty easy win, especially since Jellal's ribs had finally gotten the chance to heal. Natsu wasn't acting any differently around Lucy, so she was starting to doubt if he really understood the meaning behind her words.

"Are you okay, Lucy?" Erza asked in the locker room as they finished changing back into regular clothes.

"Yeah," Lucy sighed. "I'm just not sure- I dunno."

"Is it about Natsu?" Erza asked.

"What?" Lucy asked in surprise. "How did-?"

"You've been staring at him all day," Erza said. "It's pretty obvious that you like him."

"Don't talk to me about obvious!" Lucy said.

"I'm just saying," Erza smirked. "Your home ec partner is gonna be jealous."

"Loke?" Lucy asked. "Nah, he dropped home ec. Besides, he and Aries are going out now, so he wouldn't even have a reason to be jealous."

"So, you're just gonna do the flour project alone?" Erza asked.

"I guess," Lucy shrugged, grabbing her bag and starting to head out with Erza.

"Maybe you can get Natsu to help you," Erza said, elbowing her in the side.

Lucy just rolled her eyes, but she wondered if maybe that wasn't such a bad idea.

-.-.-

"I shall call him Sting!" Natsu announced to everyone standing in Fairy Tail's main room.

"Are we supposed to name it?" Jellal asked, seeming concerned as he looked down at the bag of flour in his arms.

"Of course!" Erza said. "I've already named ours! Wendy!"

"Wendy?" Lucy asked. "But-"

"I've always felt very maternal towards Wendy," Erza said. "So it's the perfect name." She patted the top of the flour sack and smiled.

"I suppose Wendy is a good name," Jellal said. "But won't it get confusing?"

"Hmm, maybe we'll call her Wen, for short," Erza suggested. "That'll clear it up."

"Whatever you want," he said, smiling slightly.

Lucy shook her head in amusement. She was glad to see Erza getting back to her regular, theatrical self. And it was good to see Jellal in high spirits as well. She looked over at Natsu, who was drawing spiky hair on their sack of flour with a yellow marker. He was also showing it off to Gray, who seemed to care very little.

"Juvia wishes she and Gray-sama could share a flour baby," Juvia said, looking at 'Wen' and 'Sting'.

"We're not _in_ home ec, Juvia," Gray reminded her.

She frowned and crossed her arms. "So unfair," she huffed, storming away.

Lucy pulled her bag of flour away from Natsu before he could draw anything else on it. "Thanks for your help, Natsu," she said. "But I really don't think it's necessary to color it."

"But now it looks like us," Natsu protested.

"It _does_ , kinda," Erza agreed. "Spiky for Natsu, blonde for Lucy."

"Does it _need_ to look like us?" Lucy asked.

"Well, duh," Natsu said. "It's _our_ baby."

Lucy blushed slightly, wondering if Natsu even heard the words coming out of his own mouth.

"But, it's not a real baby," Jellal said. "It's flour. It's a project."

"We have to _pretend_ , Jellal," Erza insisted. "That's what the project _is_."

"Mira expects you to treat it like it's your actual child?" Gray asked. "What, like you're married?"

Lucy, Jellal, and Erza all blushed at his words, but Natsu just shrugged. "Can't be that hard," he said. Then he turned to Lucy. "Come along, Wife," he said. "It's time to put little Sting to bed."

"N-Natsu, you can't call me that!" she exclaimed, her face turning even redder than before.

"I don't get what the deal is," he huffed. "Why is everyone around here so against people being in love."

There was silence for a long moment.

"What do you mean by that?" Erza asked cautiously.

"No one wants to talk about Jellal being with Erza," he said, holding up one finger as Jellal and Erza avoided each other's gazes. "Gray won't talk about being with Juvia, no matter how many times it comes up." He held up another finger and Gray made a scoffing sound and glanced around to make sure no one else was around. "And now I'm not allowed to be with Lucy?" He held up a third finger and then threw his hands up in the air. "I don't understand."

"Wait," Gray said. "Are you saying that you _want_ to be with Lucy?" Lucy was glad Gray had asked, because she couldn't make herself speak. "Like, you're just saying that outright?"

"You got a problem with that?" Natsu asked, narrowing his eyes.

"No, but Lucy might," Gray said, gesturing to her shocked expression.

"What?" he asked, looking over at her. "Why would she have a problem with it?"

"I- I- Um-" Lucy stammered. "You- You never _told_ me that!"

Natsu looked perplexed. "Should I have?" he asked.

"Yes, Natsu!" she shouted, letting her array of emotions come out as frustration. "You should have! How could you be so stupid!" Without waiting for him to respond, she just ran off to her room.

-.-.-

She had been lying on her bed for nearly an hour, staring at the sack of flour that Natsu had drawn on. Had she been oblivious all this time? Or was it Natsu being foolish that had led to this point? She decided she didn't really care which it was and she was just going to move forward now that she understood. Just as she came to that determination, there was a knock at her door.

"Lucy?" Natsu's voice said from the other side.

"Are you actually knocking, Natsu?" she asked, surprised that he had managed to be so considerate of her privacy.

"The door is locked," he said. "I couldn't open it."

"Oh," she said walking over to the door. "Right."

"Can you let me in?" he asked. "Erza yelled at me a lot and said I'm supposed to talk to you, or whatever."

"You can talk to me from right there," she huffed, letting her frustration with him take over a bit.

"Come on, Luce," he said. "I'm sorry. I thought you knew-" She opened the door and he grinned at her. "That's better!" he said, stepping inside.

"Did you just say the words, 'I'm sorry'?" she asked.

"Yeah. I didn't realize that you were so dumb," he said.

"Excuse me?" she asked, annoyed once again.

"I thought you would be smart enough to know that I liked you," he shrugged. "I guess I have to be more clear."

"Natsu!" she exclaimed, stomping her foot. "You are so-"

"Hey," he cut her off, putting his hand on her shoulder and leaning in close. "Calm down." With that, he kissed her, full on the mouth. She was so shocked that she didn't know how to respond. He pulled back and grinned widely, blushing slightly. "Well, I'll see you later!" he said happily.

"N-Natsu…" she mumbled as he ran off. "What-? Um… Okay…."


	43. Forty-Three - Gray Fullbuster

**Forty-Three - Gray Fullbuster**

Gray could not _believe_ he had gotten pulled into the stupid flour project. Juvia had convinced Bickslow, the shop teacher, to assign a sack of flour to him and Juvia. How she had managed it, he wasn't sure. He assumed she had done so while at swim club, as Laxus had pushed off his faculty advisor duties onto Bickslow. However she had done it, Gray was annoyed.

It wasn't as if he hated the project itself, he had just been assuming his end of the year shop project would be _making_ something, not taking care of a baking ingredient. Fortunately, he didn't really have to do much. Juvia seemed more than happy to do all the work as long as he hung around her all the time. That was the easy part; he liked hanging around Juvia. The tough part was getting people to stop embarrassing him about it.

"Gray-sama," Juvia said in homeroom at the end of the day. "Juvia has chosen a name for our child! Silver, after Gray-sama's father."

"How did you even know that?" he muttered.

"Juvia knows everything about Gray-sama," she smiled.

"You know, if we're supposed to be married for this project, shouldn't you just call me 'Gray'?" he asked.

Juvia's entire face seemed to turn red at the prospect. "Gray-sama and Juvia are married? Gray-sama would like Juvia to be more familiar with him?" she mumbled to herself.

"Yeah," he said. "So stop with the 'sama'."

She was quiet for a long time, in which Gray noticed Gajeel glaring at their sack of flour. As he was about to ask what Gajeel's problem was, Juvia spoke.

"Gray," she said.

He looked over at her. "What?" he said.

She blushed. "Oh! Juvia was just trying it out," she said.

"Oh," he said. "Good. That's much better."

"Gray," she said again, with a smile. "Juvia loves Gray!"

"You don't have to be so loud about it," he said uncomfortably. "Everyone can hear you." She ignored him and draped her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. "Ah! Hey!" he protested. He heard Gajeel laughing as the end of the day bell went off. Juvia grabbed their bag of flour and flounced off happily, but Gray stayed behind, glaring at Gajeel. "What are you laughin' at?!" he demanded.

"I ain't laughin' at _you_ ," Gajeel said. "I'm just glad to see Juvia's happy."

"What do you mean by that?" Gray asked. "She's always happy."

"Only when she's around you, dork wad."

"Dork wad?" Gray repeated. "What the hell kind of insult is that."

"Just be good to her," Gajeel said. "Or I'll break your face."

"We're not even _together_ ," Gray protested.

"Don't gimme any of that crap," Gajeel said. "I heard Erza talking to you the other day, after she yelled at Natsu for being an idiot."

"Whatever," Gray scoffed. "Like _Erza_ 's one to talk."

"I don't give a shit what _Erza_ does," Gajeel said. "What I care about is that you don't break Juvia's heart."

"I'm not plannin' to!" Gray insisted. "Lay off!"

"Good," Gajeel said gruffly. "I ain't kidding about breakin' your face."


	44. Forty-Four - Levy McGarden

**Forty-Four - Levy McGarden**

Levy was confused when a bag of flour landed on the table in front of her. She closed the book she had been reading and looked up at Gajeel. He was standing, proudly, beside the table and smirking down at her. She tried to process what exactly was going on. She knew that other people had sack of flour projects from home ec, but Gajeel was in shop class.

"What-?"

"Hey shrimp, I got us a bag of flour," he said, as if that settled some sort of problem they had had.

"Why?" she asked.

"Everyone else had one," Gajeel said. "So I figured we needed one too."

"But, we're not in home ec," she pointed out. "Did you get Bickslow to assign you one like he did with Juvia and Gray?"

"What? No," he said. "I bought it."

"You _bought_ this?" she asked. "Gajeel, I don't get it."

"This is Rogue," he said. "He's our son now. I had to go to four stores before I found the right brand."

"Don't you have a shop class project to work on instead?" she asked.

"I finished it," he said. "I built a crib for Rogue."

"You built a- Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"Everyone else has their kid," Gajeel said. "We needed ours."

She sighed. "So, are we just gonna be out in the open now?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Are we not keeping our relationship a secret anymore?" she elaborated.

He looked a bit confused. "Was it a secret?"

"That's what's it's called when you don't tell anyone!" she said.

"No one asked me," he shrugged.

"Are you saying that you'd just _tell_ people that we're together?" she asked.

"Yeah, why not?" he said. "I thought it was okay since we're all friendly now. Are _you_ trying to keep it a secret?"

"Well, not exactly," she said. "I just noticed you never said anything to anyone."

"Do you just go around telling everyone who you kiss?" he asked, leaning in close and grinning at her. "I figured it's a little personal."

Levy blushed and looked around a little. She didn't know why she was being cautious, now that she thought about it. There wasn't any reason to keep their relationship a secret. It was a miracle someone hadn't figured it out already anyway. She sighed and leaned forward to share a kiss.

"Hey, Levy!" Lucy called, causing the couple to jump in surprise. They looked over as Lucy and Natsu entered the room. "Do you and Gajeel want to join us for a movie?"

"Join you?" Levy asked.

"A double date?" Juvia exclaimed, entering the room and pulling Gray along with her. "Juvia and Gray will come too!"

"A date?" Levy asked. "I- uh- Sure?" She looked up at Gajeel for help.

"Yeah, why not?" he said.

"See?" Natsu said to Gray. "I told you."

"I wasn't disagreeing, Flame Brain," Gray said. "Since he won't shut up about her in karate club, I think it's pretty dang obvious they've been dating."

"Obvious?" Levy repeated, blushing a little.

"Oh, was it supposed to be a secret?" Lucy asked. "Sorry. I thought you guys were official."

"Well, I mean-" Levy stammered, getting to her feet.

"Of course we are," Gajeel said, placing his hand on top of Levy's head affectionately.

Levy smiled up at him, then looked to Lucy. "So, what are we going to see?"


	45. Forty-Five - Juvia Lockser

**Forty-Five - Juvia Lockser**

Juvia was ecstatic. She was on an actual date with Gray. Sure, they weren't alone, but Lucy was with Natsu, so she didn't have to worry about her being a love rival anymore. Gray still seemed a bit uncomfortable, but, over the course of the movie, he seemed to loosen up. She wondered if she could get him to willingly hold her hand.

She couldn't pay attention to anything that happened in the entire movie, she was so focused on thinking about Gray and wondering what he was thinking. To her disappointment, he seemed to be focused on the movie, instead of on her. By the time the movie was over, she was feeling discouraged. She had thought they had made a lot of progress; Gray had willingly come on this group date with her, out in public, but it seemed that their relationship hadn't moved forward after all. Juvia lamented on that as they all left the theater together.

"Juvia," Gray said suddenly, pulling on her arm as everyone continued walking. "I need to talk to you." He glanced at the others. "Alone."

Normally, Juvia would have been ecstatic to hear those words, coming from Gray. This time, however, she couldn't help but think that he probably didn't have anything good to say. She followed him forlornly, to the small alleyway between the theater and the neighboring restaurant. She remembered how they had first met in an alley, back when they had been enemies. He seemed to be struggling with what to say, so she spoke instead, saving herself the hurt of hearing the words from his mouth.

"Juvia knows what Gray-sama is going to say," she said.

"Oh good!" he said with a huge sigh of relief that felt like a knife through Juvia's heart. "'Cause I was tryin' to figure out how to say it through that whole movie. I don't even know what- Wait…." He looked at her in confusion. "Why'd you call me "sama" again?"

Juvia looked down at her feet. "Juvia understands that Gray-sama does not want to be with her," she said. She took a deep breath and looked up with resolve. "But Juvia will not give up!" she said. "Even if Gray-sama rejects her love again, Juvia will never give up! One day, Gray-sama _will_ love Juvia!"

Gray looked very confused. Juvia wasn't sure why he would be, but she was more focused on making sure he knew she wasn't giving up. She waited for him to respond, but, again, he was quiet. He just stared at her, his expression slowly changing from confusion to incredulity. Just as she turned away, thinking it would be better to leave, he grabbed her arm.

"Juvia," he said. "You don't get it." She was sure his next words would be a rejection, so she braced herself for harsh words. "I already do." She didn't understand what he meant. He already did _what_? Her confusion must have been obvious on her face, because he restated himself. " _I already do_."

"Already _what_ , Gray-sama?" she asked.

"Aww, you're gonna make me say it?" he asked, looking embarrassed. "Come on, Juvs. Can't you just act your normal self?"

"Juvia does not understand," she said slowly. "Gray-sama is _not_ rejecting Juvia?"

"I'm not," he said. "And can we go back to just 'Gray'?"

Juvia pursed her lips for a moment before speaking again, her voice hopeful. "Gray… _likes_ Juvia?" she asked.

Gray rolled his eyes and got closer to Juvia's face, causing her to blush.

"This did not go the way I planned," he said quietly. "So I'm gonna start over with what I was plannin' to say in the first place." Juvia stared at him as he took a deep breath and avoided her gaze. "I love you, Juvia," he said. "I think I have for awhile now, but I'm not too great with… uh… showin' it."

"G-Gray!" Juvia breathed, becoming overwhelmed with joy. "Juvia- Juvia is- Juvia loves Gray, too!"

"Yeah, I know that," he said, looking at her. "You're way more open with it."

Juvia smiled brightly and threw her arms around Gray's neck, causing him to stumble back a bit. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, a feeling she relished. When he pulled her back a bit, she was going to protest, wanting to hug him some more, but he made her forget all about that when he kissed her instead. Her heart soared and she returned his action with full force. When they pulled apart, after several moments, they were both smiling.

"Yo," a voice said. They both looked around to see Natsu at the end of the alley. Lucy and Levy were behind him, hands over mouths, looking excited. Gajeel was behind them, smirking. "Are you guys done yet?" Natsu asked.

"Shut up!" Gray said. Juvia saw that he was blushing, and wondered if he was going to push her away, to keep up his cold appearance. But he didn't push her away. Instead, still blushing, he took her hand in his and pulled her along as he shoved past Natsu and the others. "Let's go home, Juvia," he said.


	46. Forty-Six - Siegrain Fernandes

**Forty-Six - Siegrain Fernandes**

Siegrain was about ready to snap. Nothing had gone according to plan. By this point, he had expected his life to have fallen into place. Instead, he was suffering daily ridicule and it was not helping his case with his father, who had left on yet another business trip. On top of all that, the portion of his plan that he had considered the easiest, had completely fallen apart.

He hadn't seen Erza at all since she had returned from the hospital. What was even more infuriating was that Jellal was now with her all the time. Why couldn't he have foreseen that outcome when he got Jellal kicked out? Why couldn't Jellal have gone to stay with Ultear instead? Sieg sighed in frustration as he thought of Ultear.

She had been outright ignoring him, even when they had to interact for the student council, she spoke to him via others. She had always been by his side, helping him and supporting him through everything. Even after she had stopped helping with anything that she deemed 'immoral' she still stuck by his side. Now, it seemed he had lost her, and that, for some reason, upset him more than anything else. When their student council meeting ended, she and Meredy left the room without a word to him.

He followed, several yards behind, as they walked down the street. He ignored his phone as it got a text message, assuming that is was what it always had been, recently. Everyone seemed to have fully embraced the trend of passing on that stupid message. He'd gotten numerous messages, he'd heard people speak it aloud, he'd seen it scrawled on tables and walls, he was pretty sure there was even a tumblr blog dedicated to it, .com. But now he saw it in a new form, as he looked upon the brick wall that surrounded his house.

 _'Siegrain's a bag of dicks.'_ the graffiti taunted.

"That's not even the right saying," he said, meaning to grumble under his breath, but evidently being a bit louder, as Ultear and Meredy looked back at him. "They didn't even get it _right_ ," he said, quite loudly this time.

"Sieg," Ultear started, but he ignored her.

He also ignored the several other people who happened to be nearby, also walking home from school. They stopped to watch as he grew steadily angrier. He threw his arms in the air and started shouting.

"It's not even right!" he exclaimed. "They didn't even bother to get the insult _correct_ when publicly mocking me!" Ultear had turned to him entirely now, looking concerned, but he paid her no mind, looking back at the wall. "It's 'Siegrain- _sama_ is a _great big_ _bag_ of dicks, _pass it on_!' If your going to insult me, do it _right_!"

He punched the wall and immediately regretted it as the bricks scraped his knuckles and he felt one of his fingers crack painfully. He stormed towards the house, trying not to think about how at least a dozen people had just watched him have a mental breakdown. He especially tried not to think about how one of them was Ultear. Would she ever come back to him now? Probably not.


	47. Forty-Seven - Erza Knightwalker

**Forty-Seven - Erza Knightwalker**

"Have you seen that video going viral right now?" Erza asked as she, Coco, Hughes, and Sugarboy hung out with Mystogan in his hotel room.

"The one with that guy having a complete breakdown over graffiti?" Hughes asked.

"Yeah," Erza said. "It's so hard to watch someone completely humiliate themselves like that. I watched it four times."

"What video is this?" Mystogan asked.

Erza queued the video up on her phone and handed it to him. She saw his eyes shift from curious, to surprised, and then, as the video went on, to amusement. He started to laugh and she raised her eyebrows. Well after the video ended, he was still laughing. They all looked at him in confusion as he finally calmed down.

"Well, it isn't _that_ funny," Sugarboy said.

"No, you don't understand," Mystogan said, his voice still full of amusement. "Siegrain is-"

He started laughing again and shook his head. Then he reached up and removed his headwear and face covering. They all stared at him in confusion. Erza looked between him and the guy on the screen. They looked exactly the same, minus the black eye on the guy in the video.

"I don't understand," Sugarboy said.

"So, that's you?" Hughes asked.

"It can't be," Coco said. "This video was posted just yesterday."

"It's one of your brothers?" Erza asked. "The one that got disowned?"

Mystogan shook his head, still mirthful. "The one who told our dad the truth," he said. "I'd like to shake the hand of whoever gave him that black eye."

"You have brothers?" Coco asked. "Ones that look just like you?"

"We're triplets," he said. "The one in the video is Siegrain, as you could probably tell. My other brother is Jellal." He looked at Erza. "He's the disowned one. But he's doing alright now."

"And?" Erza asked, waiting for him to continue.

"And what?" he asked.

"And what is _your_ name?" she asked. She had been wanting to know for the longest time. Now that he had shown his face, maybe he would finally let her know. "Are you going to tell us now?"

"Oh," he said. "It's Myst. Myst Fernandes."

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Then Hughes spoke.

"Myst?" he repeated. "That's your name that you've been keeping a secret? You've been going by _Myst_ ogan!"

"Well, no one guessed my real name," Myst shrugged. "So it obviously worked."

"I guess that should be easy to get used to," Coco said. "Since that's pretty much what we've been calling you anyway."

"I can't believe I spent all this time wondering your name when it was right in front of me!" Erza said. "Also, what's with the tattoo on your face?"

Myst touched his right cheek. "You don't like it?" he asked.

She got to her feet and walked up to him, leaning over to study his face closer. To be honest, she _did_ like the tattoo. Now that she could see it, she thought Myst had a very handsome face, and she was a fan of his hair. The tattoo somehow completed the picture, making him perfect. He smirked at her, appearing to sense what her thoughts on his appearance were.

"It's fine," she said shortly.

"You certainly look very unique," Coco said.

"Except for his triplet brothers," Hughes pointed out. "Why do you _all_ have the same, weird face tattoo?"

Myst shrugged. "I honestly have no idea," he said. "We've had them for as long as I can remember." Erza touched the red marking with her finger and he raised his eyebrows. "You wanna get a little closer, Erza?" he asked playfully.

"We can just leave you two alone," Hughes smirked.

Erza scoffed and backed away from Myst. "Your family seems to be falling apart without you," she said. "Does that mean you're going back?"

"Something a little more drastic than a dent to Sieg's ego would have to happen for me to leave this tour," Myst said. "Especially since it's nearly over anyway."

"Good," Erza said. "I don't want you thinking you can just leave whenever you want."

She didn't pay attention to the snickers of her friends, instead locking eyes with Myst, who smiled at her. He genuinely smiled — not a smirk — a real smile. It made her happy. She wondered how many of those expressions she had missed, hidden behind his mask. She smiled back and found that she had made a decision about her feelings for him.


	48. Forty-Eight - Jellal Fernandes

**Forty-Eight - Jellal Fernandes**

"It's a good thing these are just sacks of flour," Jellal commented, staring at the four bags sitting on the table in front of him and Erza. "I can't imagine being left with their _actual_ children."

"You don't want children, someday?" Erza asked him.

"I don't mind children," he said, folding his arms on the table and resting his chin on them. "My problem would be babysitting a miniature Natsu and Gray."

Erza laughed. "You have a point there," she said. "But I'm sure we could keep them in line."

"I can't even keep _myself_ in line," Jellal mumbled.

He felt Erza's eyes on him and glanced at her peripherally, seeing that she looked distressed. He thought again of Lucy's words from the previous week. Was he really hurting Erza by keeping them apart? It _was_ obvious to him, at this point, that they both felt the same way for each other. Would it be so bad to finally act on those feelings?

"Jellal," she said softly, looking down. "I-"

"Wait," he interrupted, making up his mind. He sat up straight and turned to her. She looked a bit surprised at his resolute expression. "I don't know, exactly, if this is the right decision," he said, "but I'm making it anyway." Before he could say another word, his phone began to ring. He inwardly cursed his brother's timing as he looked at the screen. But he knew, if Myst was calling, it must be important. He sighed and looked at Erza. "I'm sorry," he said. "I have to take this." She nodded and he answered the call.

"Oh good, you picked up," Myst's relieved voice said. "We have a problem."

"What is it?" Jellal asked warily. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Myst said. "The problem is Dad. He's been arrested."

"What?" Jellal asked, shocked. "For what?"

"For — get this — _extortion_ ," Myst said.

Jellal let the word sink in for a moment. "You're kidding," he finally said.

"I'm not," said Myst. "I got a call from the board saying it's been going on for awhile and he finally got found out."

"So," Jellal said slowly. "What is going to happen now?"

"Well, first of all, I'm coming home," Myst said.

"You can't!" Jellal insisted. "What about the tour?"

"I've already spoken to Anima about it," Myst said. "We only had two more concerts anyway, and this is important."

"But-"

"It's already decided, Jellal," he continued. "I'm just calling you to tell you what's going on. The board member who called me is expecting me to take over in Dad's place."

"But you're not going to, right?" Jellal asked.

"I don't really know what choice I have," Myst sighed. "Sieg is obviously not in any state to."

"Yeah, I saw the video," Jellal said.

"Well, we'll talk about all this when I get home," Myst said. "I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, see you soon," Jellal said.

After he hung up, he saw Erza looking at him expectantly. He sighed and then explained the situation. She listened patiently and then, when he was finished, she pursed her lips. She looked thoughtful for several moments. Just as he was going to ask her what she was thinking, she spoke.

"I know this may seem like a terrible idea," she said carefully, "but maybe we should go talk to Siegrain."

-.-.-

Jellal couldn't believe he had let Erza talk him into actually going home. He felt strange, walking up to the house. He went to open the door, and hesitated. Technically, it wasn't his house anymore; he couldn't just walk in. He decided to ring the doorbell.

"What exactly am I supposed to say?" he wondered. "What if he's still angry?"

"It'll be fine," Erza said. "He'll have to put all that aside for now and focus on what to do about your dad. Just like you have."

"It's hard enough for me," Jellal grumbled. "I can't imagine Sieg-"

He was interrupted by the door opening. Sieg stood in the doorway, staring at them blankly. They stared back, no one speaking for several moments. Siegrain's black eye had almost completely healed, but his right hand was heavily bandaged. He looked very tired and disheveled; his hair was unbrushed and he was wearing pajamas.

"Why are you here?" he asked, finally breaking the silence. He didn't sound accusatory, to Jellal's surprise, only curious and confused. "What do you want?"

"We have to talk about Dad," Jellal said. "He was arrested."

"No surprise," Sieg said. "He probably deserved it."

"Yes," Jellal said slowly, not sure why his brother was acting so strangely. "He was arrested for extortion."

Sieg seemed to contemplate that for several moments. Then he looked at Jellal and tilted his head slightly to the side.

"You know," he said, "I always considered _you_ to be the screw up."

"Yeah, I'd noticed," Jellal said.

"I might have been wrong," Sieg said, making Jellal raise his eyebrows.

"Sieg, are you okay?" Erza asked.

"You know, even the _few_ people that truly seemed to like me won't even speak to me anymore," he said, staring at the ground. "After the video, I don't blame her."

"I don't think it was the video that made anyone stop talking to you," Erza said. "And I don't think your breakdown was due to the graffiti."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," he said. "No surprise there. I've been… terrible."

"Yeah, you have," Erza agreed, crossing her arms.

"I thought that being similar to Dad made me superior," Sieg continued. "I thought my confidence and my ability to manipulate others to my advantage would lead to success and happiness. But I suppose treating people as subordinates rather than friends doesn't do much to make them like you."

"Sieg," Jellal said, but Sieg ignored him and looked at Erza.

"It's obvious, now," he said to her, "that you made the right choice, choosing Jellal over me." Jellal and Erza exchanged a slightly nervous glance, looking back to Sieg as he continued speaking. "I'm sure you saw light in him that you didn't see in me. It all makes sense."

"Sieg," Jellal started again.

"I think I'm the last to realize how bad I've been," he said. "Even though Ultear tried to tell me. My arrogance has cost me her as well."

"Siegrain!" Jellal exclaimed, finally getting his brother to pay attention. "We are not here to discuss what you've done. We're here because we have to decide what to do about dad and the company."

"The company," Sieg repeated. "It goes to Myst, doesn't it?"

Jellal nodded. "It does," he said. "But I was hoping you could help come up with a way to avoid pushing that on him. He obviously doesn't want it."

"I think I should be done coming up with plans," Sieg said.

"Coming up with plans isn't bad," Erza pointed out. "Extorting people and being an asshat is what caused your problems."

"Well I'm not sure how to get out from under those problems now," he said.

"You could always join Crime Sorcière," Jellal said. "We'll help you figure that out."

Sieg shook his head. "Ultear wouldn't be happy with that," he said. "I have no doubt that she despises me."

"I think you have the wrong idea about her," Jellal said. "She's just waiting for you to get your act together."

"Waiting?" Sieg repeated. "So, she thinks that I _will_ get my act together?"

"She's been frustrated with you," Jellal said. "And even angry. But she'll accept you if you show that you want to get better."

Sieg's face brightened considerably and Jellal sighed with relief. It had been strange to see him looking so dejected. It was also strange to see a genuine smile on his face, rather than a smirk, but it was better than the depressed vibe he was giving off before.

"You should come inside," Sieg said, stepping aside to let them enter. "It seems we have much to discuss."


	49. Forty-Nine - Erza Scarlet

**Forty-Nine - Erza Scarlet**

Erza had been worried that it would be awkward to be at the Fernandes house again, after everything that had happened. It _was_ strange to be hanging out with both Siegrain and Jellal again, but it wasn't as bad as she had feared. Sieg seemed to have genuinely put aside all animosity and he and Jellal actually appeared to be getting along. Despite how well things were going on that front, none of them were doing so well in thinking of what to do next. Erza decided it was time to call in some help, so she excused herself to the restroom and dialed Ultear's number.

"Hello?" Ultear answered.

"Hey," Erza whispered into the phone. "It's Erza. You need to come to the Fernandes house, now."

"Erza?" Ultear said. "Why are you there? Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm just fine," Erza assured her. "But we do need your help. I'll explain when you get here."

-.-.-

Erza quietly told Ultear everything as they made their way from the front door to the sitting room. It seemed to Erza that Ultear was happy to be there, but as soon as they entered the room, her face was expressionless.

"Ultear?" Siegrain said, quickly trying to pat his hair down and make himself look presentable.

When he seemed to realize that he wasn't going to accomplish that, he just sat down, looking helpless. Ultear stood in the doorway with her arms crossed.

"Sieg," she said cooly. "You look terrible."

"Ultear, give him a-" Jellal started.

"No, she's right," Sieg interrupted. He stood up and looked at Ultear. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the way I've acted and for everything I've done." He looked at Jellal. "And I'm sorry for how I've treated you. And I'll do best to be a better brother from now on." He looked to Ultear again. "And a better friend."

Ultear stared at Sieg for a very long moment. Erza was beginning to be afraid that she would not accept the apology, but then she smiled. Sieg visibly relaxed. He tensed up again when she stepped forward and hugged him, seeming surprised by the action. Erza and Jellal looked on with amusement as Sieg tried to decide what he should do.

"I knew you'd figure it out eventually," Ultear said, still hugging him.

"Yes," Sieg said slowly, hugging her back, but still seeming fairly unsure. "Though I should have done so much sooner."

Ultear pulled back and smiled at him again. "'Should haves' change nothing," she said. Then she turned to the others. "Now," she began. "What exactly are we going to do about this situation?"


	50. Fifty - Ultear Milkovich

**Fifty - Ultear Milkovich**

Ultear was beyond relieved that Siegrain had finally gotten his act together. She knew it wasn't quite the moment to be happy, with everything that they were trying to figure out, but she couldn't help but smile.

"So, when will Myst be home?" Sieg asked.

"Probably tonight," said Jellal.

"It would be good to have this figured out before he got here," said Erza. "Maybe he could still get back to the tour?"

Jellal shrugged. "Well, he won't be making it to the concert they have tonight, it starts in two hours. But if we figure it out in the next couple days, he could get back for their finale on Friday."

"So, what are we going to do?" Sieg asked.

"Well, the way I see it," Erza said, "the hardest part is out of the way!" Everyone looked at her and she looked at Sieg. "I thought it would be much harder to get you to come to your senses, but it seems like we don't have to worry about that anymore."

"We do, of course, need to fix his reputation a bit," Ultear said. "If the board hears about everything that went on, they're not going to be happy about Sieg being in charge."

"So, how do we fix it?" asked Erza. "Say it wasn't him?"

"Who else would it be?" Ultear asked.

"I don't know," Erza said thoughtfully. "Perhaps we could say it was performance art?"

"I think I'm done with lying," Siegrain said. "It's a lot of what got us here in the first place."

"Then, what do you suggest?" Ultear asked him.

He sighed. "I should come clean about everything and apologize to everyone," he said. "I may also have to step down from being student council president, but, if I can graduate on good terms with everyone, I think there's a chance I could recover- or rather, _change_ my image."

"Well then," Ultear said. "Let's work on what you'll say."


	51. Fifty-One - Myst Fernandes

**Author's Note:**

Okay, first things first, I'm so sorry I haven't posted since Tuesday. On Wednesday, our house got struck by lightning (yes, really), which was truly terrifying. I've never in my life been afraid of lightning, but now I jump every time I hear thunder. (Congratulations, Laxus, I'm officially afraid of you and your seriously freaky powers.) Anyway, a bunch of our electronics got fried, including our modem and router, so we were out of Internet. Then, when we got new boxes, we found out that our Internet provider had been affected by the same storm we were and that they were out pf order. So, we've been without Internet since Wednesday. We got it back yesterday, finally!

So, sorry for the delay, but I really can't post from my phone, and that was my only access to the Internet.

Another note, this chapter is the last one I have totally pre-written. The story is close to the end, but I may not be able to post a chapter every single day from here on out.

Thanks for reading!

-.-.-

 **Fifty-One - Myst Fernandes**

Myst was not really prepared for what greeted him when he entered the Fairy Tail foster home. First of all, it was very loud, especially for it being eight o'clock at night. In the main room, Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, and a man with black hair and many piercings were shouting at each other and at what appeared to be bags of flour set on top of skateboards. After assessing the scene for a moment, Myst gathered that they had been racing the flour bags down the halls and each of the guys was convinced that their flour had won. Finally Natsu spotted Myst and ran over.

"Jellal!" he exclaimed. "Finally you're back. Where is Erza? Your baby misses you and I'm too busy to look after her anymore."

Myst raised his eyebrows. "Baby?" he asked. "You can't be serious!"

"Jellal!" Gray called from across the room. "Come race with us! I bet your Wendy can't beat my Silver!"

"Wendy?" he said, confused.

"Yeah!" Natsu said matter-of-factly. "Your _daughter_!"

Myst looked around the room again, trying to decide what he thought was going on. He saw some girls standing off to the side of the race. Levy McGarden seemed disinterested in the race as she read a book. He recognized Lucy Heartfilia, though he didn't know why she was there. She seemed concerned about the bags of flour, particularly the one Natsu was holding above his head as he ran back to the race.

There was another girl there, with blue hair, who seemed to be very serious about the race and how much Gray's bag of flour was better than the others. He also recognized a small, dark blue haired girl who seemed to be enjoying the excitement, but wisely staying back. He wondered what Wendy Marvell would be doing at Fairy Tail and he wondered why Gray seemed to think she would be racing against the bags of flour or that she would be Jellal's daughter. Myst still had no idea what was going on, even when Natsu dropped a bag of flour into his arms. He looked down at the flour bag to see, 'Jellal and Erza flour baby project' written neatly on top in marker.

"Oh," he said, relieved to have some sort of clarity. "That makes a lot more sense."

"What the hell is going on in this place?"

He turned and smiled at Erza as she walked in behind him. He was glad she had decided to accompany him back home, even though it meant she would miss the end of the tour. She had finally seemed to put aside her feigned animosity towards him. She stood beside him and looked over at the flour he held.

"Look," he told her. "I think this is my niece."

"It's flour," she pointed out.

"It could also be your niece, now that I think about it," he said. "If you really are related to the other Erza."

"Myst," Erza said. "It's a bag of flour."

"Erza!" came Lucy's shocked voice. They looked over to see Lucy coming towards them. "You cut your hair!"

Everyone else looked up at her words. Natsu and Gray were there in an instant, looking and touching Erza's hair in amazement.

"Hey, get off!" Erza demanded, shoving them away. "Who the hell are these people?"

Myst chuckled as everyone looked confused. "Uh, I think some explanations are in order," he said. Everyone looked at him. "First of all," he started, "I'm not Jellal. I'm Myst."

"Myst?" Natsu asked. "Are you sure?"

"Is your tour over already?" Gray asked.

"Why is Erza with you?" Levy asked.

"Oh, Myst!" Wendy said happily. "I finally get to meet you for real!"

"You know all these people?" Erza asked.

Myst smiled at her. "This is the other Erza's foster family," he said. "This is where she lives."

"Other Erza?" Lucy asked. "What other Erza?"

"This," Myst continued, putting his arm around Erza, "is Erza Knightwalker."

Everyone seemed very confused. "Knightwalker?" a few of them said with varying degrees of understanding.

"So," Levy said. "This is not _our_ Erza."

"No," said Erza. "I'm not."

"Then, why do you look like her?" Natsu asked with narrowed eyes.

"And why do you have the same first name?" asked Gray, folding his arms over his bare chest.

"I don't know," Erza snapped. "And put a shirt on!"

"Yes ma'am!" Gray said, running off.

"She's just as scary as Erza, too," Natsu said, still seeming unconvinced.

"I believe I can shed some light on this situation," came Makarov's voice from the staircase. Everyone looked over at him. He was looking at Erza. "I heard the story from an old friend of mine, back when you were both children."

"What are you talking about?" Erza asked.

"You and your twin sister," Makarov said. "You were separated at birth and sent to different places. I assume that you originally had different names, but one got lost along the way and you were both called 'Erza'."

"So, they really are twins?" Myst asked. He elbowed Erza. "I _told_ you."

"So, there are three Jellals and two Erzas?" Natsu asked.

"Well, there aren't three Jellals," Myst said. "We have different names."

"How did you find this other Erza?" Lucy asked. "Don't you think it's a little strange that _Jellal's_ identical brother found _Erza's_ identical sister?"

"We just happened to meet," Myst said with a shrug.

He smiled at Erza and Lucy's eyes widened.

"Wait," she said. "You two have known each other for just a few months, and are already together? But it's taken Jellal and our Erza this many years and they're _still_ trying to work it out?"

Myst shrugged. "Where is Jellal, anyway?" he asked. "I thought he'd be here. And where is Erza? Erza Scarlet, I mean."

"Right here," Erza's voice said from behind him. "What is going on?"

Myst turned to see Erza Scarlet and Jellal standing in the doorway. Both Erza's were staring at one another. Jellal was looking at Myst at first, and seemed to be about to speak, but when he saw the other Erza, he was distracted entirely.

"This is so weird," Lucy said, looking at the two sets of doubles.

"Who are you?" Erza Scarlet asked of her twin.

"Apparently, your twin," Erza Knightwalker said.

"You have a twin?" Jellal asked, looking back and forth between the two Erzas.

"I- I didn't know I-" Erza Scarlet said, seeming unsure.

Erza Knightwalker shrugged. "Yeah, me neither," she shrugged. "Not until he showed up anyway." She gestured to Myst and Jellal looked back to his brother.

"I don't understand," he said. "How did you find her?"

Myst shrugged again. "I really don't know," he said. "But it's good I did." He looked at the Erzas, who were studying each other closely. "It's good to bring family back together." He looked at Jellal. "Even if ours is still messed up."

"Speaking of our family," Jellal said. "It's at least a little fixed now."

"What do you mean?" Myst asked.

"After you called, we went to talk to Sieg," Jellal told him. "And he seems to have finally come to terms with everything and we've worked out a sort of plan."

"A plan?" Myst repeated. "A plan for what?"

"A plan for sorting this whole mess out," Jellal said. "Ultear is with him now, helping him prepare for tomorrow. In the morning, he's going to go to the school and explain everything to everyone there. We think, if we just get everything out in the open, it'll be easier to fix everything that's messed up. It might take some time and effort, but we think it'll show the board that Sieg is fit to head up the company."

"And then you don't have to," Erza Scarlet said, still seeming a little wary of her twin, but seeming to accept that she was real.

"So, are you two together?" Erza Knightwalker asked, looking between Erza Scarlet and Jellal.

Myst saw that they were embarrassed by the question, but there was a hint of a smile on both faces. Jellal looked to Erza, who only glanced back for the briefest moment.

"Ah, not quite," Jellal said. "I mean- No. No, we are not."

Erza Scarlet looked at her feet while Erza Knightwalker rolled her eyes.

"Wow," she said. "Your brother really doesn't act like you."

"Give him a break," Myst said with a small smile. "He's more put together when he's not flustered like this." He looked at Jellal. "Do you really think this plan with Sieg will work?" he asked.

Jellal gave a small shrug. "I think it's the best shot we have."


	52. Fifty-Two - Jellal Fernandes

**Fifty-Two - Jellal Fernandes**

Jellal was nervous for a few reasons. One, he wasn't sure how well things at Era would go, though he supposed that he would finally be able to speak to his old friends again. He was back at home, which felt a bit strange after being away. It was very quiet compared to Fairy Tail. And, of course, he missed Erza.

More than anything, he was nervous about her. He had nearly confessed to her before Myst had called, and he had little doubt that she didn't know what he had been planning to say. She had been patient with him, more than he probably deserved. Once again he remembered Lucy reprimanding him. He needed to set things right with Erza; it was time.

Sieg was there already when he got to the kitchen for breakfast. He acted very put together, but Jellal knew he was nervous as well. They didn't say much as they ate, already having discussed everything. Jellal would accompany him to Era instead of going to Fairy Hills. He and Ultear would admit to their part in everything and hopefully help everyone to get to the point of acceptance.

"So, are you ready?" Jellal asked as they finished up breakfast.

"I'm always ready," Sieg said confidently.

"Of course," Jellal said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

Myst and Erza Knightwalker walked into the kitchen, the latter yawning before looking around at everyone.

"I don't know that I'll get used to there being three of you," she said.

"It still seems more strange that there's two Erzas," Sieg said. He had been very confused when Myst and Erza had come back with Jellal the night before. It had taken some time to convince him that it wasn't the same Erza he knew. "I can't believe that both Erzas ended up with my brothers."

No one commented on that, but Jellal thought of Erza Scarlet again and what he was going to say to her. He had to push the thought away as it came time to leave. Ultear was waiting on the sidewalk when they walked outside. Myst and Erza Knightwalker followed behind and Ultear smirked and shook her head a little. She looked at Sieg.

"There are _two_ Erzas now," she said. "And _neither_ are with you."

"Thank you for that assessment, Ultear," he said shortly.

Ultear still seemed happy, despite Sieg's tone. She led the way to the school, humming a tune. Jellal was glad that she was in a good mood. She had been so disheartened recently and he could tell that her good spirits were due to Sieg finally turning himself around. Jellal wondered if perhaps she had more than friendly feelings for his brother.

When Sieg hesitated at the school door, Ultear linked her arm with his and pulled him along. Everyone else followed behind as she led the way through the halls. Jellal ignored the glances they were getting. He knew people often forgot that there were _three_ Fernandes boys, and he wondered if people were confused to see them all together. He was also sure that some of them were wondering what he was doing there after he had been expelled, but he tried not to think of that too much.

"Headmaster Yajima," Ultear greeted when they found the short, old man.

"Ah, Ultear," he said. "And the Fernandes boys as well. How lovely."

"Uh, yes," Sieg said. "Hello sir. I have a request to-"

"Yes, yes. Of course," Yajima said, waving him off. "Ultear had already told me. An assembly will be held shortly."

"Oh," Sieg said, glancing at Ultear before looking back to the headmaster. "Does that mean- Do you know the truth already?"

"I have known, or at least suspected, the truth for some time now," Yajima said. "I knew it would all come out eventually. Now get to the auditorium so this can all be over with."

-.-.-

When the students were all gathered, the auditorium buzzed with conversation. Everyone kept glancing up at Jellal and Sieg, and Jellal wondered which students could tell them apart. Finally, Sieg stepped forward, to the podium, and everyone fell silent. He hesitated for a very long moment and Jellal saw Ultear fidget out of the corner of his eye. The longer the silence went on, the more tense the air seemed to get.

"What is he _doing_?" Ultear muttered.

"I think he's just nervous," Jellal whispered. "This isn't exactly easy for him." Sieg looked back at Ultear and Jellal. Jellal gave him an encouraging smile. "Don't worry," he told his brother. "We're here with you."

And then, Sieg smiled. A genuine smile. Jellal grinned and gave him a thumbs up, which felt a little foolish, but he was just happy that he and Sieg were finally getting along. Even if he didn't know what would happen after the assembly, he could at least be glad for that. And, he had a feeling that things were really going to be better than ever.


	53. Fifty-Three - Erza Scarlet

**Fifty-Three - Erza Scarlet**

Erza couldn't focus at school for the entire morning. She wished she had decided to skip and go to Era, but she knew it made no sense for her to be there. She thought of Sieg, and hoped everyone would accept his change of heart. She thought of Ultear, and hoped everyone would forgive her as well as Sieg. And, of course, she thought of Jellal.

She hoped that everyone would accept him again, even though they'd hear he wasn't entirely innocent. She hoped broken relationships could be repaired. Even if it took some time, she was sure that everything would eventually settle back into some semblance of a normal life. At that thought, she smiled and looked around the lunch room. Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel were fighting over something or other, but she could tell that no one was very serious.

Even those that were once enemies had become close friends. The boys settled down when Gildarts shouted at them, and they all went back to their table. Natsu threw his arm around Lucy's shoulder and she smiled and leaned into him. Juvia held Gray's hand and he pulled her closer. Gajeel pulled Levy, who was reading instead of eating, into his lap and tried to read over her shoulder.

Erza was happy for all her friends, though she felt a slight pang in her heart and thought of Jellal again. She had been sure, just yesterday, that he had been going to finally confess his feelings. She understood that he had a very good reason to be distracted after everything that happened, but it was still so hard to wait. It was hard to wait for him to be as ready as she was, but she would have to continue to be patient. She thought of their kiss, as she often did, and sighed wistfully.

"Thinking of a blue-haired someone?" a sing-songy voice asked over hear shoulder. She turned to smile at Mirajane, who was grinning, but not in a teasing way. Laxus stood just behind her, feigning disinterest. "If it helps to convince him to finally make his move," Mira said, "tell him I'll give you an A on your flour project."

"Coercion is not going to help," Erza laughed. "We're almost there. He just needs a little more time."

"I think he disagrees," Laxus said. Erza looked at him in confusion and saw that he was looking towards the cafeteria doors. She turned to see Jellal walking towards her and looking determined. "I think he's as ready as he'll ever be," Laxus said.

"Well, we'll just leave you two alone then," Mira said with a huge smile.

Erza ignored her and stood to greet Jellal as he approached her. "Hey, Jellal," she said, smiling. His expression didn't shift and her smile faltered slightly. "Are you okay?" she asked.

He glanced around before taking a huge breath in. "I want to talk to you alone," he said quietly. "Will you come with me?"

He held out his hand and Erza looked down at it. She thought briefly of the rest of her classes for the day, but then she looked into Jellal's eyes again. She nodded and took his hand. Finally, he smiled and she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She happily followed as he led her out of the cafeteria.


	54. Fifty-Four - Siegrain Fernandes

**Author's Note:**

Penultimate chapter, guys! :D

-.-.-

 **Fifty-Four - Siegrain Fernandes**

Siegrain was exhausted. He was glad to finally be at home and away from all of those people. He sat down in the living room of the large, empty house. Myst and Erza Knightwalker had gone off somewhere and Jellal had likely gone to speak with Erza Scarlet, so that left Sieg happily alone. That is, until Ultear walked in.

"So," she said, sitting beside him on the couch. "I think that went pretty well."

"Yeah," Sieg sighed. "It wasn't so bad."

"I think people took it well," Ultear said.

Sieg nodded. "Milliana told me I'm a slightly smaller bag of dicks now," he said. "So that's… good. I think."

Ultear smiled. "Well, I'm glad we did what was right. People might take some time to trust us completely, but it'll at least be _earned_ trust this time."

"Yeah, that's true," he said. "As long as we make sure to be trustworthy this time around."

"I'll help you if you help me," she said, placing her hand on his. He looked down at their hands and felt a strange feeling that he couldn't quite discern. He looked at Ultear to see her smiling at him. "Deal?" she asked.

He smiled back. "Deal," he said. She kept smiling at him and he felt his face start to get hot. He looked away from her and tried to think of something else to say. "So, I called the company," he said. "Myst and I did together, actually. It seems like they're willing to work with me, at least on a trial basis."

"Well, that's good," she said, standing up and stretching her arms above her head. "I think I'm gonna go take a nap. It's been a long day."

"Oh… okay," he said.

He stood up, for some reason feeling sad that she was leaving. He had been so happy to be alone just moments earlier. He wanted to reach out and keep her from going, but he stopped himself, feeling foolish. She turned to him again and he got that strange feeling when she smiled at him. She put her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm glad we're together again," she said. "Hopefully it'll be for good this time."

With that, she kissed him on the cheek and walked away. He stood, dumbstruck, for a very long moment. He watched her walk out the door, his fingers barely touching where she had kissed him. His brain was working to come up with a reason for his heart to be beating the way that it was. Then something clicked, and he ran after her.


	55. Fifty-Five - Erza Scarlet

**Fifty-Five - Erza Scarlet**

Erza was so tired of being patient, but she did her best as she waited for Jellal to speak. They had been walking around the outside of the school building for some time and he hadn't said much. She wondered if there was some way to set him at ease. He was clearly very nervous, and she was pretty sure she knew why. Just as she was about to speak, he stopped walking.

 _Here it comes,_ she thought, excitedly and nervously. _He's finally going to tell me._

She turned to face him, trying to keep her heart beating at a steady pace and failing entirely. He was looking down, not meeting her eyes, as he grabbed her hands in his own. She smiled, tilting her head to the side slightly. He was still silent for several moments as they stood in the shade of a large tree. Finally, he let out a deep breath and looked up.

"Erza..." he said. He paused for a long time, staring into her eyes.

"Yes?" Erza prompted.

"I-" he began, leaning forward slightly. Erza's heart fluttered. "You-" he started again.

And then, without another word, he kissed her. Before Erza could really even react, he pulled back, his hands on her shoulders. She blinked in surprise. He had pushed her away _again_. She sighed in disappointment.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's _okay_ ," she said. "I thought this was what you pulled me out of school for."

He shook his head and looked down. "No," he said. For a split second, Erza's heart started to fall. But then he looked up again. "I mean, _yes_ ," he said, "but I didn't mean to do that _first_. I was supposed to speak first and do that _later_."

"Jellal…" she breathed, not sure what else to say.

"I love you," he interrupted. "I have for a long time. And I'm sure you already knew, but I needed to say it." He placed a hand gently on her face, brushing her cheek with his thumb. "I can't hold it in anymore. I love you, Erza. I'm in love with you."

It was exactly what Erza had been hoping for, and even _expecting_ to an extent, but she wasn't ready for how those words made her feel. She was overwhelmed with emotion. She was so happy she wondered if she might start to cry.

"I- I- Jellal," she stammered, trying to calm herself enough to get the words out. "I love you, t-"

He cut off her reply by pressing his lips to hers once again. She threw her arms around his neck, determined to keep him from pushing her away this time. He seemed to be in the same mindset as he wrapped his arms tightly around her back and held her close. When they finally did pull apart from each other, his hands lingered on her waist. Erza smiled up and him and was glad to see him smiling right back.

"Well," Jellal said softly. "I think-"

"That it was _about time_?!" a voice shouted.

They both looked towards the school building to see Natsu's head poking around the corner. Behind him was what appeared to be almost all of their friends. Even a lot of the teachers were out. Erza would have been embarrassed to have such a large audience except that she was just too happy to care. Jellal took hold of her hand and smiled at her.

"Yeah," he said. "It _was_ about time."

-.-.-

 **The End**

-.-.-

I hope you guys liked it! 55 chapters and over 50,000 words! Wow!


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